ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's official estimates are for the total of UK carbon dioxide emissions in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; what proportion of each total is attributable to emissions from the domestic sector, as defined in the UNECE definitions of end user groups; and whether the Government has made an estimate of what those levels will be in 2003.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 6 March 2003
	The most recent UK carbon dioxide emissions data, published in March 2002 show that total UK carbon dioxide emissions were 152.1 million tonnes of carbon per year (MtC/yr) in 2000. Provisional data suggest that while emissions were around 3.4 MtC higher in 2001 than in 2000, they declined between 2001 and 2002. Final data for 2001 will be available later this month.
	Data based on the UNECE classification are available for 2000. This classification includes coal, oil and gas delivered for combustion in dwellings. The use of these fuels produced emissions of around 23 MtC/yr in 2000. In addition, approximately 18 MtC/yr were emitted from power stations, refineries and other energy industries serving the domestic sector. End user data for 2001 based on the UNECE classification will be available in April 2003.

Compulsory Purchase

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many properties have been compulsorily purchased by the British Waterways Board in each year since 1999.

Alun Michael: None.

Electronic Correspondence

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy for it to be possible for correspondence between hon. Members and Ministers to be carried out electronically.

Alun Michael: A great deal of progress has been made recently on tackling the significant difficulties experienced by DEFRA on dealing effectively with Member's correspondence since it's formation in June 2001 and the situation continues to improve. I have asked officials in DEFRA to look at how we might introduce an electronic correspondence system with Members. However, as our highest priority on correspondence at the moment is to ensure that we continue to improve Departmental performance under the existing system.

Environment Agency Inspections

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets were set by her Department for the number of inspections carried out by the Environment Agency in each year since 1997; what percentage were met; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: Operational decisions are delegated to the Environment Agency. Although the Agency publishes a number of output and performance statistics, the departmental requirement upon the Agency is that they should assign resources to inspections that address environmental risk.
	The Agency makes information about its regulatory inspection activity available in its published Corporate Plans. These record the Agency's performance against its internally-generated targets. The Agency has recorded the following statistics for its planned inspections for each year ending 31 March as follows:
	
		
			 Year Waste target Percentage achieved Process industries target Percentage achieved 
		
		
			 1998 171,940 82 3,998 80 
			 1999 180,000 83 4,342 76 
			 2000 150,000 84 4,835 79 
			 2001 125,000 96 4,227 70 
			 2002 125,000 81 4,276 84 
		
	
	The Agency only sets targets for inspecting waste and process industries. Other inspections are not "planned" and therefore do not have targets set for them.

Foot and Mouth

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many contracts which her Department and its agencies signed with companies to incinerate animal carcases under the over thirty months scheme have been cancelled since 1996; and if she will list the reasons for those cancellations.

Alun Michael: 24 contracts for the incineration of over thirty month scheme animal carcases have been cancelled since 1996. The reasons for cancellation, are as follows:
	One contract was terminated for failure to comply with a contractual requirement to commence full operations, Eighteen contracts were terminated at the end of their term, with new contracts being introduced following a competitive tendering exercise; Five contracts terminated following the cessation of the foot and mouth emergency.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she will support the 18 applications for marketing consents for GM crops and foods under consideration by the European Commission.

Michael Meacher: The United Kingdom has not yet reached an opinion on any of the 19 applications to place GMOs on the market under EU directive 2001/18. Each application is considered initially by the member state where the GMO is to be placed on the market for the first time. Once the lead member state is satisfied that the application complies with the directive it is passed to the other member states with an assessment report. The UK will consider each application on its own merits on a case-by-case basis using the criteria laid down in the EU legislation. The Government's view will be informed by the advice of its relevant independent expert groups, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, together with advice from the statutory nature conservation bodies, the Food Standards Agency and the Health and Safety Executive. If the UK has comments or reasoned objections to the placing on the market of the GMO in question these will be forwarded to the European Commission. A collective decision will then be taken by member states as to whether or not the GMO in question should be placed on the market in accordance with the provisions of the Directive.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the public debate on genetically modified organisms will be concluded.

Michael Meacher: The Public Debate Steering Board is due to submit its report on the debate to Government by the end of September.

Greenhouse Gas

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what she estimates the cut in greenhouse gas emissions in the UK between 1990 and 2010 will be, relative to the target of 12.5 per cent.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 7 March 2003
	The UK published its Climate Change Programme in 2000. It contains an integrated package of policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the UK economy. The programme estimates that these policies and measures could reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 23 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010, and could reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 19 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010. A formal review of the Climate Change Programme will take place in 2004.

Ruddy Ducks

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her written ministerial statement of 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 71WS, for what reason domestic legislation was introduced to protect the ruddy duck population.

Elliot Morley: Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, all wild birds, as defined by Section 27(1), are protected. As ruddy ducks have been present in this country in the wild since 1953, the Department considers that they fall within this definition.

Ruddy Ducks

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her written ministerial statement of 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 71WS, on ruddy duck culling, whether those ruddy ducks culled under the control scheme will be made available for human consumption.

Elliot Morley: All recovered carcases of ruddy ducks are subject to post-mortem examination to determine age and sex of the animals. This information is used to help assess the consequences of control on population growth rates and productivity. The Department has no plans to make ruddy duck carcases available for human consumption.

Secondments

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of her Department's officials have been seconded to (a) British Energy, (b) BNFL and (c) other (i) companies and (ii) NGOs involved in the nuclear sector since 1 January 2002; and on what areas of policy seconded individuals have worked.

Alun Michael: None.

Tallow

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much compensation from the European Union her Department has received for the incineration of tallow produced under the over thirty months scheme since its inception.

Alun Michael: Compensation paid to producers under the OTMS scheme is funded approximately 70 per cent. by the EU and 30 per cent. by HM Treasury. Of the element that can be reimbursed by the EU, 80 per cent. is payable at the time animals are rendered, and the remaining 20 per cent. after the Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) and Tallow produced by the rendering process have both been incinerated.
	To date, £106,057,555 has been reimbursed following the incineration of MBM and Tallow.

Waste Disposal

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) incinerators and (b) waste to energy plants handle waste collected by local authorities in the UK; and where they are located.

Michael Meacher: There are sixteen facilities which burn municipal waste in the UK at the following locations.
	Bolton (Manchester)
	Cleveland (Billingham)
	Coventry
	Dundee
	Dudley
	Edmonton (North London)
	SELCHP (Lewisham, London)
	Tyseley (Birmingham)
	Kirklees
	Lerwick (Shetlands)
	Nottingham
	Sheffield
	Stoke
	Wolverhampton
	Isle of Wight (PDF)
	Pebsham (RDF)
	They all generate power and/or heat. The last two plants on the list burn refuse derived fuel (RDF) prepared from municipal waste.

Waste Disposal

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many waste incinerators are planned by waste disposal authorities; what the capacity is of each incinerator planned; and what information she collates on the contractual arrangements for waste disposal.

Michael Meacher: Information on the number of waste incinerators which are subject to planning applications determined by local planning authorities is not held centrally.
	Information is available, however, from the Environment Agency on the number and status of proposed new Municipal Waste Incineration Plants in England and Wales and is set out in the following table. The data are based on information shared with the Environment Agency by prospective applicants for Pollution Prevention and Control permits which are needed before a new plant starts operations. There may be other planning applications or amendments which have been submitted to local authorities on which the Agency has not been consulted. The planning status may have changed since the data were supplied.
	My Department does not routinely collect information on contractual arrangements for waste disposal which is the responsibility of waste disposal authorities.
	
		
			 Operator Location Size/tonne/yr Planning status Permit status 
		
		
			 NEWLINCS Developments Grimsby 56,000 Granted PPC application to be submitted 
			 Onyx Portsmouth 165,000 Granted after appeal PPC application expected this year 
			 Onyx Marchwood, Southampton 160,000 Granted PPC application being determined 
			 Surrey Waste Management Capel, Surrey 116,000 Permit withdrawn after JR. New application expected PPC permit issued 
			 Grundons Slough 400,000 Granted PPC application being determined 
			 Onyx Chineham, Surrey 110,000 Granted PPC permit issued 
			 HLC Waste Management Services Neath, Port Talbot 85,000 Granted PPC permit issued 
			 Waste Recycling Group Hull 150,000 Application refused. Planning appeal in progress PPC permit issued 
			 Kent Enviropower Maidstone, Kent 500,000 Granted PPC permit being determined 
			 Riverside Resource Recovery Bexley, London 580,000nominalcapacity Application submitted; public enquiry pending PPC application pending 
			 Brightstar Environmental Derby 55,000 up to222,000 Granted PPC application to be submitted '03 
			 Onyx Sheffield 225,000 Granted PPC application determined 
			 County Environment Services Roche, Cornwall 64,000 Application submitted No application

Waste Electrical Equipment

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that there are markets for waste electrical equipment diverted from landfill.

Brian Wilson: I have been asked to reply.
	Markets already exist for many of the materials arising from waste electrical equipment and there is also a wide spread reuse and refurbishment market for specific products such as mobile telephones or washing machines. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, due to be transposed next year, is likely to result in an increase in the availability of materials and components arising from WEEE although the additional tonnages will not be large relative to other sources of these materials.
	There will, however, be a need to encourage some new market applications where, for example, materials are contaminated or market prices are very low. The DTI will be working with Defra, WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) and business to help address this.

Waste Minimisation and Recycling Schemes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria will be adopted for the funding of waste minimisation and recycling schemes when changes to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme are introduced.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 24 February 2003
	The precise arrangements for the administration of the new public spending programme to encourage sustainable waste management, which will replace parts of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS), are still under development but are unlikely to include a grant scheme for which criteria would need to be drawn up. Details will be set out alongside the Government's response to the Strategy Unit Report "Waste Not Want Not", which we aim to publish in the spring.
	For the period prior to 1 April 2004, my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced on 3 February 2003, Official Report, columns 5–7WS, that Government would provide transitional funding for waste management and recycling projects currently supported through the LTCS beyond March 2003, for one year only, provided these projects meet the eligibility criteria included in the announcement and subject to any constraints resulting from EU state aid rules.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Arms Trade

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if, when drafting the secondary legislation for the Export Control Act 2002, she will extend the licensing regime for extraterritorial controls on brokered arms deals to cover all types of military and security equipment brokered by UK nationals to any destination, wherever they conduct their activities;
	(2)  if she will extend the provisions in the Export Control Act 2002 to include the licensing of all brokered activities, including the provision of financial services to those involved in the arms trade.

Nigel Griffiths: The consultation document published on 30 January 2003 sets out the draft secondary legislation to implement the Export Control Act 2002 and explains what brokering activities are proposed to be licensed. Copies of the consultation document have been placed in the Libraries of the House. Final decisions on drafting the secondary legislation will not be taken until after the consultation closes on 30 April 2003 and all the responses have been carefully considered. The current consultation reflects the conclusions reached in the light of the earlier consultations.

Bottled Water

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the number of litres of bottled (a) sparkling and (b) still water consumed in the United Kingdom in each year since 1992; and what percentage was supplied in (i) plastic, (ii) glass and (iii) other materials.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not themselves gather data to this level of detail. However, industry market intelligence data available to us show the following:
	
		UK bottled water consumption -- Litres (million)
		
			  Still Sparkling 
		
		
			 1992 315 180 
			 1993 330 200 
			 1994 350 250 
			 1995 440 288 
			 1996 430 270 
			 1997 495 279 
			 1998 550 285 
			 1999 696 300 
			 2000 862 283 
			 2001 990 270 
			 2002 1,080 300 
		
	
	In addition, the data available reveal that in 2002, 81 per cent. of bottled water was supplied in plastic, nine per cent. in glass and 10 per cent. in other materials.

Bottled Water

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the number of litres of chilled water cooler water supplied to homes and businesses in the United Kingdom each year since 1992; and what proportion of this water is classified as mineral water.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not themselves gather data to this level of detail. However, industry market intelligence data available to us show the following:
	
		UK water cooler water supplies
		
			  Litres (million) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1992 33 
			 1993 43 
			 1994 57 
			 1995 76 
			 1996 95 
			 1997 124 
			 1998 153 
			 1999 205 
			 2000 265 
			 2001 335 
			 2002 390 
		
	
	In addition, the data available reveal that in 2002, mineral water accounted for 27.4 per cent. of total water volume supplied.

Broadband

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the planned 2002–03 allocation of resources to the broadband category listed in the Better Regulation Section on page 123 of the Department of Trade and Industry's Expenditure Plans 2002–03 to 2003–04, Cm 5416.

Stephen Timms: The £15 million listed represents the 2002–03 allocation from the £30 million UK Broadband Fund given to the Regional Development Agencies and the devolved Administrations.

Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department is taking to promote access to broadband in rural areas.

Stephen Timms: DTI has established the UK Broadband Task Force to look at the aggregation of public sector broadband demand and it is envisaged that this will help extend broadband availability into rural areas. Projects funded through the £30 million UK Broadband Fund are seeking to develop broadband networks, often in rural and remote areas, and spread best practice from these throughout the country. DTI works closely with DEFRA on rural broadband issues and will continue to do so.

Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives the Government have offered to encourage (a) BT and (b) other suppliers to provide affordable broadband in rural communities.

Stephen Timms: The Government's policy is not to subsidise service providers to roll out broadband but to stimulate a competitive market through fair regulation to provide consumer choice at low prices.
	We have provided the RDAs and devolved Administrations with the £30 million UK Broadband Fund to help develop broadband networks. The UK Broadband Task Force through its demand aggregation work will help broadband become increasingly available to areas not currently served by an affordable broadband service.

Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the economic impact on areas where people are unable to access broadband in the next three years.

Stephen Timms: No such assessment has been made.

Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what projections her Department has made of the level of access to broadband by the beginning of next year.

Stephen Timms: DTI does not make detailed forecasts of levels of access to broadband. Currently, broadband is available to just over 70 per cent. of the UK population and it is anticipated that this will rise substantially in the future.

Broadband

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of broadband coverage in Liverpool; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government has made no specific assessment of broadband coverage in Liverpool. In the UK as a whole, 71 per cent. of the population has access to a broadband service.
	A map showing geographical availability of broadband services can be found in the UK Online Annual Report 2002, available at http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/oee/oee.nsf/sections/esummit-ukoannrep/$file/indexpage.htm

Controlled Goods

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what records she holds of offsets arranged by UK companies as part of the conditions of sale of controlled goods to overseas buyers; and if the details of these offsets are publicly available;
	(2)  what records she holds of arrangements entered into by UK companies to license the production overseas of controlled goods; and whether the details of these arrangements are publicly available.

Nigel Griffiths: Since information is held only if it was contained in documents provided in support of an export licence application. Such documents are not normally publicly available.
	An export licence is not a requirement from the Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation to manufacture items outside the UK. However, where the product to be manufactured under commercial licence has a potential military use, the UK exporter might require an export licence before the goods and technology necessary for the establishment and operation of the licensed production facility can be supplied from the UK.

Deloitte & Touche

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the matters upon which her Department and the public bodies sponsored by her Department have obtained recent advice from Deloitte & Touche.

Patricia Hewitt: Deloitte & Touche have provided advice to the Department and its NDPBs on the following issues:
	Tax advice to various NDPBs
	Audit work for various NDPBs
	Risk management
	Management information system
	Electronic submission framework
	Administration strategy
	Wind up of the Pension scheme of Inward
	Access to Finance—SMEs
	Data Protection Act review and Performance Management Framework
	Work-Life Balance Challenge Fund
	Royal Mail including the Post Office network
	National Debtline pilot evaluation
	BNFL PPP Advisors
	Financial Systems development
	Inward Investment Overseas and in UK
	The Department's Executive Agencies will be responding directly.
	Letter from Roger Heathcote to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 10 March 2003
	You tabled a question on 27 February 2003 to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, asking if she will list the matters upon which her Department and the public bodies sponsored by her Department have obtained recent advice from Deloitte & Touche. I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Employment Tribunals Service(ETS) which is an executive agency of the DTI.
	The Employment Tribunals Service have obtained no advice from Deloitte & Touche in the calendar year 2002.
	Letter from Alison Brimelow to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 10 March 2003
	I am replying to your Parliamentary Question, tabled on 27 February 2003, about matters upon which the Department of Trade and Industry has received recent advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	The Patent Office has received no advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	Letter from Dr. J. W. Llewellyn to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 10 March 2003
	The Secretary for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question if she will list the matters upon which her Department and the public bodies sponsored by her Department have obtained recent advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	National Weights and Measures Laboratory have not obtained recent advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 10 March 2003
	I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of DTI. I can confirm that Companies House has received no recent advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	Letter from Martin Wyn Griffith to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 10 March 2003
	You asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list the matters upon which her Department and the public bodies sponsored by her Department have obtained recent advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	I am writing to confirm that the Small Business Service has not called upon the services of Deloitte & Touche in the last calendar year.
	Letter from Mike Goddard to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 10 March 2003
	I have been asked to reply in respect of the Radiocommunications Agency to your recent Parliamentary Question about advice from Deloitte & Touche.
	This Agency has no recent contracts with Deloitte & Touche.

Energy White Paper

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to paragraph 2.27 of the Energy White Paper, Cm 5761, what areas of liaison she expects to develop with the European Parliament to implement the proposals on emissions trading.

Michael Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department takes the lead in negotiations on the EU Emissions Trading Directive. Political agreement was reached on the proposed Directive at Environment Council on 9 December 2002. The European Parliament will begin its second reading shortly. Officials from my Department have had meetings with the rapporteur for the Directive in the European Parliament and a number of Members of the Parliament to discuss the agreement reached in Council and the prospects for the Parliament's second reading. I expect further discussions with the European Parliament to take place during the second reading process. The trading scheme is due to begin in 2005. There is provision for the European Commission to bring forward proposals to amend the scheme, including extending its scope to cover other sectors and gases, before the start of the second phase in 2008. Any proposals would be subject to agreement between Council and Parliament, and I would expect these to lead to further discussions with the European Parliament.

Energy White Paper

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage improvement in energy efficiency would be required to deliver from the household sector the (a) 5 MtC saving between 2002 and 2010 and (b) the 6 MtC saving between 2010 and 2020 identified in the Energy White Paper.

Michael Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
	Assuming continuation of past trends for the growth in household demand for energy, an additional annual saving of 5 MtC by 2010 would correspond to an energy efficiency improvement of approximately 20 per cent. relative to the year 2000. This represents broadly a doubling of the average rate of improvement seen in the 1990s.
	A further 4 to 6 MtC of annual.savings by 2020 would correspond to an efficiency improvement compared with 2010 of around 18 to 22 per cent.

HMX

Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what conditions were attached to the recent licence for the export of HMX to Iran; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: There were no special conditions attached to the licence since the Government is satisfied that the HMX pellets, specifically designed for cutting collars and perforating tubes, are intended for only legitimate purposes as part of the process of drilling oil and gas wells.

Internet

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it a requirement for the internet sites of companies registered in the United Kingdom to carry the registered address of their company.

Stephen Timms: In June 2002, the European Commission published a proposal to update the First Company Law Directive, which sets out basic safeguards for the protection of shareholders, creditors and other third parties dealing with limited companies, to reflect technological developments since the Directive was originally agreed in 1968.
	A provision within the Commission proposal was that companies should be required to include basic statutory information, including information sufficient to identify the public file relating to the company and the location of its registered office, in electronic documents and on any company website. The UK supports this proposal as an important protection for those dealing with companies via the internet.
	It is hoped that agreement to the final text can be achieved in the near future. Early consideration of the legislative steps necessary to achieve the objectives of the Directive in the UK will then take place

Miners' Pensions

Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress in reinstating pension rises for miners sacked as a result of the 1984 industrial dispute.

Brian Wilson: Following my announcement in December 2001, a scheme was launched in April 2002 to handle applications from those miners dismissed in connection with the 1984–85 strike, and not subsequently re-employed by British Coal.
	The closing date for the scheme was 31 December. The Department is currently assessing the applications which have been received, and we hope to be able to inform those who are eligible for the enhancement of their pension in the near future.

Renewable Energy

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the operation of the renewables obligation certificate trading system; and if she will calculate the effect of every certificate holder being able to realise the full value by having the right to cash out.

Brian Wilson: The renewables obligation certificate trading system is working smoothly and well. The obligation is a market based mechanism and the value of certificates is established in contracts between generators and suppliers or third party traders. The terms of these contracts are a matter for the parties concerned. renewables obligation certificates are trading at a high value at present reflecting the shortage of renewables electricity in the early years of the obligation.

Sudan

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UK companies are operating in the oil sector in Sudan.

Brian Wilson: As the Department is not active in promoting trade with or investment in Sudan, our information on the number of UK companies operating in the oil sector in the country is limited. To our knowledge, no UK companies have any direct investment in the upstream oil sector in Sudan.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Ordinands

Desmond Swayne: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what financial provision is being made for an expansion in the number of ordinands.

Stuart Bell: The Church of England has always made financial provision for all those who have been recommended for ordination training. In 2003 this will cost in the region of £9 million.

Clergy Pensions

Michael Jack: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will make a statement on the ability of the Church of England pension fund to meet its future liabilities.

Stuart Bell: Clergy pensions earned on service before 1998, for which the Commissioners are responsible, are covered more than twice over by the Commissioners' assets. Those on service from 1998 are met from the new scheme administered by the Church of England Pensions Board and funded by contributions from parishes. Actuaries provide regular advice on the financial position in both cases.

Bishopstone Estate

Robert Key: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what income has been derived from the Commissioners' estate at Bishopstone, Wiltshire, in each of the past five years.

Stuart Bell: The income for the Bishopstone estate has fallen by just over 14 per cent. during the last five years as a result of the general downturn in agricultural incomes. The Commissioners, in common with other large estate owners, do not publish precise income figures for their estates, as this information is commercially sensitive.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Proportional Representation

John Robertson: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what recent discussions the Commission has had with the Scottish Executive regarding proportional representation in Scotland.

Angela Browning: I have been asked to reply.
	I understand that Commissioners and staff regularly meet members and staff of the Scottish Executive. However, no discussions have taken place on the subject of proportional representation in Scotland.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Youth Fitness

Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Department's strategy is for improving youth fitness.

Richard Caborn: The Government's £459 million investment over the next three years in PE and sport in schools will increase youth participation and fitness.
	Game Plan recommends that participation needs to rise to improve the fitness of the whole population. We are working with the Department of Health to deliver this.

Access to Music

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures she proposes to give greater access to (a) ballet and (b) classical music concerts to persons in social classes C1 and C2.

Kim Howells: In our latest funding allocation to the Arts Council of England, we have asked the Arts Council to put strategies in place to ensure that world class art is accessible to as many people as possible. This will be reflected in the Funding Agreement which is currently being negotiated with the Arts Council. It will now be for the Arts Council to develop measures to address these issues, building on the success of initiatives like Creative Partnerships, the New Audiences Programme and the National Touring Programme.

Stonehenge

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who will fund the proposed Stonehenge visitor centre.

Kim Howells: The new Stonehenge visitor centre will be primarily funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, DCMS and English Heritage. English Heritage will conduct a fund-raising campaign to cover part of the cost.

2012 Olympics

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of sites for sailing events for a bid to hold the Olympics in London.

Richard Caborn: The Arup report on the costs and benefits of staging the Olympic Games in London in 2012 considers a number of venues that will be required should we win the right to stage the games. Some of the venues, including a venue for sailing, will be located outside the London area. All the venues will be subject to further assessment if the Government decide to support a bid.

Lottery Grants

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to simplify the application process for lottery grants; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: As part of the Lottery Funding Review, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering a number of proposals further to simplify application processes and will make an announcement in the summer.

International Sporting Events

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on bringing international sporting events to the United Kingdom.

Richard Caborn: The Government remains committed to attracting more international sporting events to the UK. The Department will take forward the recommendation of the Strategy Unit to create a strategy for bidding for mega events. We will consider with UK Sport how best to assist organisations at the bidding, delivery and evaluation stages of major sporting events.

Capital of Culture

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what reports she has received from the independent expert panel who will judge Liverpool's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture.

Kim Howells: The independent Advisory Panel, chaired by Sir Jeremy Isaacs, considered all 12 bids carefully and thoroughly against the criteria laid down by the ED and the Government. The panel thought that all the bids were of a very high standard but the six shortlisted bids are those which the panel considered to be the strongest overall. As my hon. Friend knows, Liverpool's bid has been shortlisted.
	The Panel will now consider the shortlisted bids in more detail. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will wait for further advice and recommendations from the panel before reaching any conclusions about which city should be the UK's nomination for European Capital of Culture 2008.

Broadband

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she is taking to ensure that internet access in public libraries can be by broadband.

Richard Caborn: The £100 million, Lottery funded, People's Network programme has enabled internet connections to 99 per cent. of UK libraries so far. It was a condition of the funding that broadband connections should be made, where possible. Through business plans received from library authorities, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, estimate that around 85 per cent. of our libraries will have broadband internet connectivity of 2 mega-bytes or more. The remaining 15 per cent. of libraries are in areas where it is very difficult to install broadband currently.

TREASURY

Translation and Interpreting Services

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Government contracts for (a) translation and (b) interpreting services are put out to tender.

Paul Boateng: The information is not held centrally.

Accidental Deaths (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many accidental deaths there were in Wales in each of the last 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 10 March 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many accidental deaths there were in Wales in each of the last 20 years. I am replying in his absence. (101239)
	The most recent available mortality data are for the calendar year 2001. Figures on the total number of accidental deaths for each year from 1982 to 2001 are given in the attached table.
	
		Number of deaths from accidents(1), persons Wales(3), 1982 to 2001(3)
		
			 Calendar year Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1982 803 
			 1983 756 
			 1984 793 
			 1985 780 
			 1986 820 
			 1987 770 
			 1988 632 
			 1989 701 
			 1990 690 
			 1991 706 
			 1992 666 
			 1993 659 
			 1994 678 
			 1995 684 
			 1996 735 
			 1997 706 
			 1998 751 
			 1999 720 
			 2000 687 
			 2001 717 
		
	
	(1) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9) codes E800-E928 excluding E870-E879 for the years 1982 to 2000, and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes V01-X59.
	(2) Figures relate to deaths of people resident in Wales, rather than deaths occurring in Wales.
	(3) Figures are for deaths registered in the years 1982 to 1992, and for deaths occurring in each calendar year from 1993 to 2001.

Accounting Standards Board

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 5 February 2003, Official Report, column 302W, on the private finance initiative, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Accountancy Standards Board;
	(2)  what plans he has for his Department to issue accounting standards in relation to (a) special purpose vehicles, (b) PFI contracts and (c) other issues;
	(3)  whether officials from his Department have met representatives of the Accounting Standards Board to discuss accounting standards relating to special purpose vehicles.

Paul Boateng: The issue of accounting standards is a matter for the Accounting Standards Board (ASB), not for HM Treasury.
	HM Treasury does not assess the performance of the ASB. The ASB is an independent body, a company limited by guarantee, which is formally a subsidiary of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). A full report of the ASB's activities is set out each year in the FRC's Annual Review.
	HM Treasury has observer status on the Accounting Standards Board and Treasury officials have regular contacts with the Board on a range of issues.

Annuities

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to the recommendation from the Financial Services Consumer Panel that the Government should consider establishing an independent charitable trust charged with offering consumers free advice on the purchase of annuities.

Ruth Kelly: The Pensions Green Paper, "Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and Saving for Retirement" (Cm 5677), made clear the Government view that compulsory independent financial advice would not be appropriate at this stage. Reforms to the market for financial advice and sales look likely to increase both consumer choice and the availability of low-cost financial advice.

Annuities

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will create a CAT standard annuity.

Ruth Kelly: There are no plans to introduce a CAT standard for annuities.

Centre for Non-Residents

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance the Centre for Non-Residents has issued for British nationals (a) returning from countries neighbouring Iraq and (b) otherwise affected by Foreign Office advice on safety, concerning their tax liability and legal residency for financial year 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The tax position of those returning to the UK from countries neighbouring Iraq on the basis of advice on safety from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is as set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 4 March 2003, Official Report, column 919W. Staff at the Inland Revenue's Centre for Non-Residents are advising taxpayers accordingly. They have taken appropriate steps to ensure that their contact telephone number (0151 472 6196) is widely available.

Child Care

Caroline Flint: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if lone parents will be able to claim the new child care tax credit for a period of time before returning to work.

Dawn Primarolo: The new Working Tax Credit, including the child care element, can be claimed by lone parents who are in qualifying remunerative work for at least 16 hours a week. To meet that test, the person has either to be working 16 hours a week at the date of claim or to have accepted an offer of work at that date and the work is expected to start within 7 days.
	People who are on paid maternity leave, paid adoption leave or paid paternity leave, and who met the Working Tax Credit remunerative work requirement before their leave started, will be able to claim during their leave for child care costs for the children in the family they were responsible for before the arrival of their new child.

Child Support

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the change in Government financial support for children since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: From this April, the introduction of the new tax credits, the Working Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, will provide more generous support for families with children—with more for those on lower incomes.
	The Child Tax Credit combined with Child Benefit will deliver up to £54.10 a week in support for first child, compared to £27.70 a week in April 1997.
	Under the new tax credits:
	the average gain for those currently receiving Working Families Tax Credit will be £12 per week;
	families on Income Support and income based Jobseeker's Allowance will gain an average of £11 per week;
	students and student nurses with children could gain up to £38 per week for the first child; and
	over 500,000 one-earner families with children with incomes over £30,000 a year will become newly eligible for support for their children.
	This builds on existing policies to support families financially:
	we have provided record increases in Child Benefit. From April 2003, the rate of Child Benefit for the first child will rise to £16.05, a 25 per cent. increase in real terms on the 1997 level;
	we introduced the Children's Tax Credit in April 2001, now worth up to £529 a year;
	we have introduced the Working Families' Tax Credit (WFTC), which benefits over 1.3 million families, and nearly 2.7 million children;
	as part of the Working Families Tax Credit, 175,000 thousand families received help with their child care costs, more than three times the number who benefited from the old child care disregard in Family Credit. We are currently paying out £1 million a day in child care tax credit; and
	we have increased the children's allowances in Income Support and other income-related benefits, including a doubling in real terms of the rates for children under 11.

Computer Misuse

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 11 February 2003, Official Report, column 653W, on computer misuse, how many Inland Revenue staff have been (a) dismissed and (b) prosecuted as a result of misuse of its computer systems.

Dawn Primarolo: The information, for each of the last five years, is as follows.
	
		
			  Dismissals Prosecutions 
		
		
			 1998 1 0 
			 1999 7 0 
			 2000 8 0 
			 2001 6 0 
			 2002 3 0

Consumer Confidence

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent research he has commissioned into the level of consumer confidence in the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government's Fiscal Statement and Budget Report, to be delivered on 9 April 2003, will include a full assessment of developments in the UK household sector including consumer confidence.

Corporation Tax

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in corporation tax revenue resulting from the introduction of the congestion charge.

Dawn Primarolo: No estimate has been made of the impact of the congestion charge on corporation tax receipts. But estimating its impact would not be straightforward as companies may feel benefits as well as the more obvious costs.

Economic Growth (EU)

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's forecast is of the average economic growth rate in the EU from 2000 to 2010.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 7 March 2003
	In line with the practice of previous Governments, we do not publish growth forecasts for the EU. Growth forecasts for the G7 aggregate are published in the Pre-Budget and Budget Reports.

Euro

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent (a) discussions he has had with and (b) representations he has received from (i) the Bank of England, (ii) representatives of business and (iii) employees representatives on the assessment of the five tests for euro entry.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 11 February 2002, Official Report, columns 104–05W.

Euro

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) terms of reference and (b) guidance issued to the review of the implications for UK statistics of joining the euro.

Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor has asked Christopher Allsopp to undertake a wide-ranging review of the informational and statistical requirements for monetary and wider economic policy-making, following the end of his term as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.
	The terms of reference and other details of the review were published in a press notice on 27 February 2003, available on the Treasury's website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Economic Reform (EU)

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent proposals he has made to the European Union on increasing the rate of its economic reform.

Ruth Kelly: The Government's proposals for increasing the rate of EU economic reform are set out in "Meeting the Challenge; Economic Reform in Europe", published on 17 February 2003.

Economic Reform (EU)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 217W, on Lisbon and Stockholm objectives, if he will (a) make a statement and (b) publish a document listing progress towards each objective listed in Appendix A of the European Economic Reform White Paper 2002.

Ruth Kelly: Progress towards the Lisbon and Stockholm objectives is described in the progress report on European economic reform, 'Meeting the Challenge; Economic Reform in Europe', and in 'Structural Indicators of European Economic Reform; Measuring Europe's Progress', both published on 17 February 2003.

Financial Services Authority

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 30W, whether the FSA will continue the advertisement complaints procedure to its conclusion in cases in which the offending advert has been removed.

Ruth Kelly: Decisions about the action to take in response to complaints about advertisements, and when and how to bring that action to a conclusion, are a matter for the FSA, taking into account the circumstances of each case.

Fraud

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions for tax fraud the Inland Revenue's special compliance office has pursued in each year since 1997; and how many of these prosecutions resulted in convictions.

Dawn Primarolo: Statistics on prosecutions and convictions by the Inland Revenue are published each year in their Annual Reports, copies of which are available in the House Library.

House Price Inflation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment HM Treasury has made regarding the level of house price inflation in the UK economy.

Ruth Kelly: The Government's Fiscal Statement and Budget report to be delivered on 9 April will include an assessment of recent house price developments.

Household Debt

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce the level of household debt as a percentage of disposable income in the UK.

Ruth Kelly: Within a sound financial framework, the Government believe that households are best placed to decide on the level of debt that they should hold. Growth in household debt reflects strong fundamentals with a robust labour market, low interest rates and strong gains in housing wealth.

Inflation

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the inflation rate was for (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector in each of the last 12 months.

Ruth Kelly: Public and private sector inflation, as measured by the implied Government and private consumption deflators respectively, are not available on a monthly basis as they are derived from quarterly nominal and real consumption data. The latest data were published by the Office for National Statistics in the First Release on UK output, income and expenditure for the fourth quarter of 2002 on 26 February 2003.

Insurance Premiums

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions officials from his Department have had with representatives of (a) employers and (b) employees concerning the cost of insurance premiums.

Ruth Kelly: Officials from HM Treasury and other Government Departments have meetings with a wide range of representative groups on issues related to insurance, including the cost of insurance premiums.

Insurance Premiums

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what revenue has been received from Insurance Premium Tax in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what plans he has to provide business with a rebate from Insurance Premium Tax revenues.

Ruth Kelly: The total amount of insurance premium tax collected in the UK can be found on the HM Customs and Excise website: www.hmce.gov.uk/about/reports/ann-report/n2.pdf.
	As with all taxes, Insurance Premium Tax is kept under review and any changes would be announced in the annual Budget.

Labour Statistics (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people aged 16 to 21 there were in low rates of pay in Wales for each of the last 20 years;
	(2)  how many people aged 16 to 21 were unemployed in Wales in each of the last 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Mr. Colin Mowl to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 10 March 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about unemployment and low pay rates in Wales. I am replying in his absence. (100241, 100243)
	The attached table gives estimates of the number of unemployed people aged 16 to 21 in Wales for the three month periods ending May of each year from 1984 to 2002. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. This information is not available on a consistent basis for 1983.
	For years from 1998, ONS has published estimates of the numbers of people paid below the National Minimum Wage on the basis of sample survey data. However, for the group requested, sample numbers are too small to provide a reliable estimate.
	
		Unemployed people aged 16–21 in Wales; Spring (March to May) 1984 to 2002 -- Thousand, not seasonally adjusted
		
			 March to May  
		
		
			 1984 49 
			 1985 45 
			 1986 47 
			 1987 35 
			 1988 31 
			 1989 23 
			 1990 25 
			 1991 28 
			 1992 23 
			 1993 33 
			 1994 22 
			 1995 23 
			 1996 23 
			 1997 28 
			 1998 21 
			 1999 26 
			 2000 21 
			 2001 24 
			 2002 23 
		
	
	Note:
	These Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates are Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) and have not been adjusted to take account of the Census 2001 results.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Maastricht Criteria (Budget Deficits)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the prospects for the United Kingdom meeting the Maastricht criteria relating to budget deficits.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 2.61 of the 2002 pre-Budget report. A copy can be found in the Library.

National Health Service

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the increase in spending on the national health service announced in the Budget Statement 2002 in relation to (a) productivity, (b) efficiency and (c) savings due to economies of scale.

Paul Boateng: The health settlement announced in the 2002 Budget Statement, which covers the period from 2003–04 to 2007–08, is linked to a programme of reform to deliver the NHS Plan. Progress against this will be assessed and reported regularly by the Department of Health in their annual Departmental Report and in their Autumn Performance Report, both of which are available on the Department of Health website.

National Insurance

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 769W, on national insurance contributions, what assessment his Department has made in recent economic forecasts of the effect that the increase in national insurance in April will have on (a) disposable income, (b) consumer spending as a percentage of GDP, (c) personal borrowing levels and (d) the savings ratio.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given him by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General on 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 769W.

Pensions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to the European Commission on its inquiry into whether UK pensions tax rules meet EC requirements.

Ruth Kelly: In common with all other member states, the UK was asked to provide details of existing tax rules for pension schemes, and whether any changes to those rules were contemplated. The response was a factual description of the reliefs and tax treatment currently available. Reference was also made to the pensions simplification review then under way.

Personal Sector Wealth

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of total personal sector wealth was owned by the wealthiest half of the adult population in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The available information which relates to the distribution of UK marketable wealth, including that owned by the wealthiest half of the adult population, is given in Table 13.5 of Inland Revenue Statistics 2003 which is available at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/index.htm.

Public Sector Comparators

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish Treasury investment appraisal guidance used to construct Public Sector Comparators; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: Guidance on Public Sector Comparators is set out in Treasury Taskforce Technical Note 5, "How to Construct a Public Sector Comparator".
	Work is currently under way to assess how guidance might be updated to reflect recent changes in the 2002 Green Book.

Public Service Agreements

Helen Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the contribution Public Service Agreements will make to the Government's sustainable development strategy.

Paul Boateng: Public Service Agreements make a significant contribution to the delivery of the Government's sustainable development strategy. The Spending Review 2002 required each Department with its own Public Service Agreement to produce a Sustainable Development Report, explaining the sustainable development implications of its policy priorities. Further information on the specific contribution Public Service Agreements make can be found in the 2002 Spending Review White Paper and in the Government 2002 Annual Report on sustainable development, "Achieving a Better Quality of Life".

Revenue Qualifying Regimes

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 33W, on revenue qualifying regimes, whether changes to the qualifying regime will be subject to an assessment of the likely impact to those on low incomes.

Ruth Kelly: I confirm that in considering changes to the qualifying policy regime the Government will assess the likely impact of those changes on those on low incomes.

Secondments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 220W, on secondments, from which private accounting firms the three people are seconded; how long the secondment is of each; and what their responsibilities are.

Ruth Kelly: The information is as follows:
	Deloitte Touche—24.9.01–23.09.03
	Duties: General Business Taxation (including corporation tax, capital gains for companies, tax issues for multinational businesses, taxation of insurance, offshore funds and other collective investment schemes, rural tax issues and film tax relief).
	Arthur Andersen—2.1.02–30.6.03
	Duties: Team Leader responsible for Public Enterprise Partnerships
	PKF—22.7.02–21.7.04
	Duties: Accountancy advice. Post-Enron work and Corporate Governance issues.

Suicides (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides of those aged 15 to 24 there were in Wales in each of the last 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Mr. Colin Mowl to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 10 March 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many suicides have been recorded in each of the last 20 years for those aged 15 to 24 in Wales. I am replying in his absence. (101244)
	The most recent available mortality data are for the calendar year 2001. Figures for each year from 1982 to 2001 are given in the attached table.
	
		Number of deaths from suicide and injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted(4), persons aged 15 to 24, Wales(5),1982 to 2001(6)
		
			 Calendar year Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1982 31 
			 1983 36 
			 1984 28 
			 1985 26 
			 1986 31 
			 1987 40 
			 1988 35 
			 1989 31 
			 1990 33 
			 1991 42 
			 1992 42 
			 1993 40 
			 1994 44 
			 1995 46 
			 1996 40 
			 1997 53 
			 1998 47 
			 1999 50 
			 2000 35 
			 2001 41 
		
	
	(4) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excluding E988.8for the years 1982 to 2000, and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (1CD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending,
	(5) Figures relate to deaths of people resident in Wales, rather than deaths occurring in Wales
	(6) Figures are for deaths registered in the years 1982 to 1992, and for deaths occurring in each calendar year from 1993 to 2001.

Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) of 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 604W, how much each mailshot to potential new tax credit claimants has cost.

Dawn Primarolo: The answer I gave to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) referred to a reminder mailing in November and a further mailing in February. The approximate costs for these mailings are as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Date Print and production Postage 
		
		
			 November 299,000 588,000 
			 February 70,000 364,000

Tax Credit

Tony Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Northampton, South will be entitled to the new Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit; and of these, how many (i) have applied for them and (ii) have returned their claim form.

Dawn Primarolo: Six million families in the United Kingdom are expected to benefit from the new tax credits in 2003–04, including 1.3 million families with children who receive Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance and who will receive the additional support through those benefits until they move into the Child Tax Credit itself in 2004. By the end of February we had already received over three million claims. Numbers for Northampton South are not available.

Tax Evasion

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the rate of prosecution for tax evasion.

Dawn Primarolo: The Revenue tackle fraud, error and avoidance using civil investigation and settlement, and applying financial penalties where appropriate. The Revenue also operates a selective prosecution policy intended to bolster the overall enforcement strategy. The focus is on cases where prosecution will do the most to promote compliance by deterring tax, contribution and tax credit fraud.
	Statistics on prosecutions and convictions by the Inland Revenue are published each year in their Annual Reports, copies of which are available in the House Library.

Tax Revenues

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 222W, on tax revenue forecasts, what estimate he has made of the effect on public sector net borrowing (a) this year and (b) next year if GDP growth were 1 per cent. lower than assumed over the coming year.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to paragraph B17 of the 2002 Pre-Budget Report (Cm 5664), where the estimates are set out.

Tax Revenues

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of lower than forecast manufacturing growth on total tax revenues;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the strength of the growth of tax revenues.

Paul Boateng: Consistent with the Code for Fiscal Stability, projections for the public finances, including tax revenues, will be set out in the Budget to be presented to the House on 9 April 2003.

Teenage Pregnancy (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births there were to girls conceiving under the age of 16 in Wales for each of the last 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 10 March 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many births there were to girls conceiving under the age of 16 in Wales for each of the last 20 years. 1 am replying in his absence. (101240)
	The latest available figures are for 2001. The information requested is given in the attached table.
	
		Births to mothers conceiving below 16 years of age, Wales 1982–2001(7) -- Number
		
			 Year(8) Births(9) 
		
		
			 1982 273 
			 1983 303 
			 1984 288 
			 1985 308 
			 1986 287 
			 1987 259 
			 1988 275 
			 1989 241 
			 1990 293 
			 1991 231 
			 1992 253 
			 1993 267 
			 1994 276 
			 1995 330 
			 1996 360 
			 1997 318 
			 1998 322 
			 1999 282 
			 2000 265 
			 2001p 235 
		
	
	(7) Figures are for mothers who were usually resident in Wales at the time of birth.
	(8) Age at conception was estimated before 1987 using complete months, and from 1987 onwards using exact dates.
	(9) Includes live births and stillbirths.
	p Provisional data.

Voluntary Service (Young People)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what funding he is making available to encourage gap year voluntary service by young people.

Paul Boateng: The Secretary of State for Education and Skills has allocated £5 million of the Spending Review 2002 settlement for the Young Volunteer Challenge scheme to promote volunteering for 18–19 year olds from lower-income backgrounds. Through this scheme, young people will receive a weekly allowance of £45 and a lump sum end of experience award of £750 to support them during a period of full-time voluntary activity.

War Chest

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been allocated, by continent, by HM Treasury for the global war on terror since 11 September 2001.

Paul Boateng: Such information is not kept in the format requested. Apart from funds for military operations in Afghanistan, which totalled £618 million from 2001 to 2003, and £1.75 billion set aside this year to cover the costs of military and overseas operations so that the UK can continue to play a leading role in the global war against terror, the Treasury does not hold information on all departmental expenditure on counter terrorism and UK resilience measures since 11 September 2001. The Government are committed to ensuring that UK domestic security is given a high priority and the strengthening of the UK's defences against the threats posed by international terrorism was a key theme of last year's Spending Review. Consequently, departments have prioritised measures for improving the UK's resilience to, and capability to deal with, a terrorist attack. UK resilience arrangements have been reviewed and planning has been mainstreamed as a routine activity.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Arts Council Steering Group

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who the members of the Steering Group for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's research project on the Arts of Irish and Ulster-Scots are; and what organisations they represent.

Angela Smith: The current members of the Steering Group are as follows:
	Roisin McDonoughArts Council of NI
	Noirin McKinneyArts Council of NI
	Nick LivingstonArts Council of NI
	Aodan Mac Poilinlontaobhas Ultach/ Ultach Trust
	Deirdre DavittForas na Gaeilge
	George HolmesTha Boord o Ulster Scotch
	Maurna CrozierNI Community Relations Council; seconded to DCAL at the time of the setting up of the Steering Group

Royal Victoria Hospital

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Royal Victoria Hospital is retaining body parts from recent autopsies.

Des Browne: The Royal Victoria Hospital has only retained body parts from recent post mortem examinations with the valid consent in writing of the next of kin or closest living relative.

Royal Victoria Hospital

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many post mortems had been performed at the Royal Victoria Hospital between the setting up of the numbered post mortem system and 31December 2002, broken down by (a) coroners and (b) hospital post mortems.

Des Browne: There was a total of 49,956 post mortems carried out in the period between the commencement of the current post mortem numbering system and 31 December 2002. It is not possible to provide further information in the form requested, as it is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Burns Report

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the report by Professor Gardiner on the practical issues of implementation of the Burns Report, commissioned by the Educational Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, will be published.

Jane Kennedy: As I explained to the hon. Gentleman in my reply on 13 February 2003 Official Report, column 934W, it is my understanding that this report cannot be made publicly available until the Assembly Education Committee has had the opportunity to consider and approve it.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated impact on the environment the European Union Working Time Directive will have in respect of carbon dioxide emissions from heavy goods vehicles in Northern Ireland; and if he will seek derogation from this Directive on behalf of the quarrying and construction industries.

Jane Kennedy: The European Working Time Directives are designed to protect the health and safety of people at work.
	I have not assessed the impact of the Directives on the environment and I do not propose to seek a derogation along the lines suggested.

Columba Initiative

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many annual reports the Columba Initiative have published; and if he will place them in the Library.

Angela Smith: The Columba Initative registered as a company limited by guarantee in April 2002. Its first annual report is expected to be published in the summer of this year on completion of annual audited accounts. The annual report and accounts will be placed in the Library.

Credit Strategy

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with counterparts in Edinburgh, Cardiff and London regarding the development of a pan-UK credit strategy, particularly with respect to a credit transcript system.

Jane Kennedy: The introduction of a unit based curriculum with credit attached remains a major aim of the Department for Employment and Learning's (DEL) lifelong learning strategy. Officials are working with the relevant Departments in England, Scotland and ales to try to secure complementarity across the UK.
	In 1999 DEL commissioned a three year, Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) implementation project, to develop the specifications for a single credit framework which could be used to support the operation of a credit accumulation and transfer system in NI including a template for a standardised NICATS credit transcript to provide a summary of each learner's achievement.
	DEL has tasked the NI Council for the curriculum, examination and assessment (CCEA), as the regulatory authority for Northern Ireland, to provide advice on the next phase of NICATS taking account of funding implications, added value and work of credit systems in the rest of the UK.

Hospital Post-Mortems

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) parents and (b) relatives of deceased persons are entitled to refuse a hospital post-mortem.

Des Browne: Hospital post mortems are only carried out with the consent of the parents, legal guardian or relative of the deceased, as appropriate.

Organ, Block and Slide Retention

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) organs, (b) blocks and (c) slides (i) are and (ii) have been retained at (A) Moyle Hospital, Larne, (B) Omagh Hospital, (C) Foster Green Hospital, Belfast, (D) Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, (E) Antrim Hospital, (F) Erne Hospital, Enniskillen, (G) Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry, (H) Coleraine Hospital, (I) Ards Hospital, Newtownards, (J) Wavenay Hospital, Ballymena, (K) Mid Ulster Hospital and (L) Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

Des Browne: The Royal Group of Hospitals has previously retained and continues to retain organs, blocks and slides. Antrim Area Hospital has previously retained organs, blocks and slides and currently retains blocks and slides. The Ulster Hospital has previously retained, and continues to retain, organs. The Waveney Hospital previously retained organs, blocks and slides. This has ceased and all pathology has moved to Antrim Area Hospital.
	The other hospitals listed have never had the on-site laboratory facilities to produce blocks and slides and at the time of the Chief Medical Officer's survey in May 2001 had no retained organs. Beyond that, the information is not available in the format requested.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Band

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the Northern Ireland charitable organisations that have benefited from a performance from the PSNI Band.

Jane Kennedy: The names of the charitable organisations who have benefited from a performance of the PSNI Band are not available. In 2002, the band played at six functions affiliated to registered charities and fourteen other fund raising functions for various community organisations.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Band

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many, and what proportion, of Police Service of Northern Ireland band members have been returned to normal policing duties.

Jane Kennedy: The PSNI Band will be stood down on 31 March 2003. When the decision to stand down the band was taken 32 officers were serving with the band. On 1 April 2003, 30 police officers will be returned to duties at District Command Units, 1 officer will take up duties in Crime department and 1 officer has resigned.

Policing Partnerships

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people applied to be members of the Belfast District Policing Partnership; and how many were deemed to be appointable candidates.

Jane Kennedy: 203 people applied to be members of the Belfast District Policing Partnerships and of those, 63 were deemed to be appointable candidates.

Policing Partnerships

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have applied to be members of the District Policing Partnerships in Northern Ireland; and how many were deemed to be appointable candidates.

Jane Kennedy: 1,511 applications have been received for membership of District Policing Partnerships and of those, 737 were deemed appointable candidates.

Resettlement Grants

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in resettlement grants to prisoners released under the early release scheme in Northern Ireland since the scheme began; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Northern Ireland Prison Service has made payments of £44.5k to organisations or individuals assisting with the resettlement of prisoners under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Indian Ocean Territories

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many joint financing arrangements, at what estimated budgetary cost, have been made since 1997 with the United States for (a) site preparation, (b) construction, (c) maintenance and (d) operation of facilities on British Indian Ocean Territories.

Mike O'Brien: None.

British Indian Ocean Territories

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the islands in the British Indian Ocean Territories that have buildings and facilities used or set aside for future use by the United States or UK for defence purposes.

Mike O'Brien: Diego Garcia.

Charlotte Wilson

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Burundi since the killing of British aid worker Charlotte Wilson in December 2000.

Mike O'Brien: Since the tragic death of Charlotte Wilson we have made numerous representations to the Burundi authorities. As soon as our Embassy in Kigali was made aware of her killing, we made contact with the Burundi authorities, urging them to bring the perpetrators to justice. They assured us that they would do all they could to apprehend Charlotte's killers. The Burundi Foreign Ministry has confirmed this in writing.
	Since that time, our Ambassador in Kigali and other Embassy staff have frequently raised Charlotte Wilson's case with the Burundi authorities and will continue to do so. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Charlotte Wilson with Burundi President Pierre Buyoya and Minister of Justice, Fulgence Bakana, during his visit to Burundi in January 2002. More recently, on 10 February 2003, my noble Friend Baroness Amos raised Charlotte's case with the Burundi Foreign Minister, Therence Sinunguruza, during his visit to London. We also arranged for Charlotte's mother to meet the Foreign Minister on the same day.
	We have offered assistance to the Burundi authorities from the Metropolitan police, should they require it. We continue to press for a full investigation and for the
	perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Congo

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of progress towards the ratification of the all inclusive agreement signed in December 2002 between the participants of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Three issues are blocking the establishment of the transitional national government (TNG) provided for in the Global Accord (signed in Pretoria on 17 December 2002):
	(i) Agreeing the constitution for the TNG;
	(ii) Provision of security in Kinshasa for the TNG and its institutions;
	(iii) Formation of a new national army.
	Talks aimed at resolving these issues started in Pretoria on 25 February under the mediation of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative and the Government of South Africa. Our diplomatic staff in Kinshasa and Pretoria are monitoring the talks and remain on hand to support the mediation as required.

Detention

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on paragraph 18 of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opinion 16/2002; and what additional information his Department has sought from the authorities in Dubai.

Mike O'Brien: The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in paragraph 18 of its opinion 16/2002 of 29 November 2002, comes to the conclusion that
	"with regard to the present period of detention, dating from 13 December 1999, the Working Group considers that it does not have sufficient information to give an opinion on whether or not the continued detention is of an arbitrary nature, which would involve interpreting a domestic regulation on the granting of early release".
	We have previously advised Mr. Atkinson in Dubai that a local lawyer would be best placed to address the issue of the application and interpretation of the laws governing his imprisonment. Early last year, our embassy supplied Mr. Atkinson's UK based lawyer with a list of Dubai lawyers. We will continue to offer Mr. Atkinson all the assistance we properly can.

Diego Garcia

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultation has taken place with the United States concerning the use of construction labourers on Diego Garcia since 1997; and how many workers from Mauritius and the Seychelles have been employed on such construction projects.

Mike O'Brien: Matters relating to the workers employed on Diego Garcia by the US contractors are regularly discussed between the United Kingdom and United States authorities at all levels. The number of workers fluctuates from year to year and within any given year. Currently, about 40 Mauritian workers are employed by US contractors on Diego Garcia. No workers have been engaged from the Seychelles for many years.

Diplomatic Corps

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the range of salary scales for Her Majesty's ambassadors and high commissioners.

Mike O'Brien: Her Majesty's Ambassadors and High Commissioners abroad are appointed from the following Foreign & Commonwealth Office grades. The current salary ranges for these grades are shown in brackets.
	
		Current Salary Ranges
		
			  (£) 
		
		
			 D6 34,544 to 776 
			 D7 42,640 to 58,182 
			 SMS 51,250 to 145,550 
			 Grade 1 Ambassadors 115,000 to 189,000

Guantanamo Bay

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for how many hours in each month since their initial detention each of the UK citizens held at Guantanamo Bay has undergone interrogation.

Mike O'Brien: The detainees at Guantanamo Bay are in US detention. We do not know the length of time each detainee has been interrogated.

Guantanamo Bay

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the legal authority for the detention of UK citizens at Guantanamo Bay.

Mike O'Brien: The question of the status of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay under international humanitarian law is complex and has to be considered in the light of the facts relating to each individual detainee. We have made clear our position that, whatever their status, the detainees are entitled to humane treatment, and, if prosecuted, a fair trial.

HMS Mauritius

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK personnel are stationed at HMS Mauritius; and at what annual cost in the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: HMS Mauritius was a Royal Navy Communications Centre in Mauritius. It was established under an Agreement on Mutual Defence and Assistance that came into force on 12 March 1968 when Mauritius became independent. HMS Mauritius closed at the end of March 1976 and all personnel were withdrawn.

Iran

Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press European Union partners to introduce a censure resolution on human rights abuses in Iran at the next session of the UN Human Rights Commission.

Mike O'Brien: All EU partners are concerned about the human rights situation in Iran and we are currently consulting on how to encourage positive change. A resolution is one of a number of possibilities, which are being discussed.

Ituri Pacification Commission

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation he has made to the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to ensure the effectiveness of the Ituri Pacification Commission; and if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bill Rammell: The humanitarian situation in Ituri (north-eastern DRC) remains serious. We have urged all Congolese parties and the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda to play their part in stabilising the situation, and to give their full support to the Ituri Pacification Commission. But we believe that the real key to bringing stability to the region is the formation of a transitional national government in Kinshasa.
	We are working closely with our partners on the UN Security Council and at the EU to maintain pressure on the parties to address the situation in Ituri, and to take forward the formation of the transitional national government.

Myanmar

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on trade sanctions against the Government of Myanmar; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: We do not encourage trade or investment in Burma. We offer no assistance at all to companies wishing to pursue trade or investment with Burma. Companies asking for our advice are told of our policy, the regime's appalling human rights record and its economic mismanagement.
	Due to a combination of these factors, there is virtually no new foreign investment in Burma and Burma's international trade is falling.

Rwanda

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received regarding the arrest of the Rwandan journalist Ismail Mbonigaba; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We received a report in January that Ismail Mbonigaba (editor of the Rwandan newspaper Umuseso) had been arrested for allegedly inciting "divisionism and discrimination" through an article and cartoon which appeared in his paper. On 27 February the Court of Appeal released Mr. Mbonigaba provisionally pending a further hearing. No date has yet been set for this hearing.
	We will continue to monitor events closely and to urge the Government of Rwanda to respect the principle of freedom of the press and free speech. I, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development and my noble Friend Baroness Amos discussed this with President Kagame in January.

Smoking

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy his Department has adopted on smoking in the workplace.

Mike O'Brien: Smoking is only allowed in designated smoking areas in Foreign and Commonwealth Office buildings in the UK. The same principle is applied in overseas missions where feasible.

Terrorist Incidents

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of terrorist incidents which have taken place in each of the past five years.

Mike O'Brien: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep this kind of statistical record of world-wide terrorist incidents. A number of academic institutions compile such statistics. Another useful reference is the United States Department of State's Annual Report on "Patterns of Global Terrorism".

UN Resolutions

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the British Government has to sponsor a resolution against (a) Libya, (b) Zimbabwe and (c) Iraq at the UN Commission on Human Rights Session in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 March; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The UK is committed to playing an active role in the forthcoming meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights. The UK does not table resolutions at CHR on a national basis. We are currently discussing with EU partners which resolutions the EU will sponsor at this year's CHR. Decisions on EU initiatives at CHR are taken by consensus. At last year's CHR, the EU tabled resolutions on Zimbabwe and Iraq and it is likely the EU will do so again this year. We are discussing with EU partners whether to make reference to Libya at this year's CHR.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Turkey

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been provided by the Government to Turkey to assist in dealing with Kurdish refugees from Iraq in the last 10 years.

Clare Short: My Department has not provided assistance to the Government of Turkey to assist with Kurdish refugees. UNHCR, for whom we provide annual core funding, has a regional programme that includes some support to Kurdish refugees in Turkey.

Afghanistan

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the number of civilian deaths which occurred (a) directly and (b) indirectly as a result of military action in Afghanistan since 11 September 2001.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	It is impossible to know for certain how many casualties, either military or civilian, there have been as a result of coalition action in Afghanistan. The Taliban's claims of casualties cannot be taken at face value.
	Military action inevitably carries risks, but as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear in the House, our targeting and weapons selection processes are rigorous. Every effort is made to avoid civilian casualties.

Award Schemes

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by her Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time.

Clare Short: None.

Contingency Reserve

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the Department's contingency reserve for this financial year has not been spent.

Clare Short: DFID's contingency reserve for 2002–03 has been fully committed, mainly to strengthen our response to emergencies in Africa and the Palestinian territories.

Developing Countries (Water Supplies)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with other EU governments about (a) the management of water and (b) the control of water supplies in developing countries; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: My department is currently working with other EU member states on a joint water initiative, which is addressing these issues.
	The European Commission and the EU Member States set up the water initiative in order to respond to the demand of the partners in developing countries and create a platform for better co-ordination of water related development aid and for new partnerships.
	Although involved in many aspects of the initiative, my department is leading the financing component, working on management and control issues through a multi-stakeholder process. The finance working group is currently developing a set of guiding principles that recognises the important contribution of the many stakeholders to the provision and management of water and sanitation services, and the need for effective governance in the water and sanitation sector.

Israel

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received from NGOs regarding access to water supply in Jayyous.

Clare Short: I have not received any representations from NGOs regarding access to water supply in Jayyous.

Israel

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has made to (a) the Israeli authorities and (b) the United Nations regarding (i) the potential separation of Jayyous from its water supply and (ii) alternative water supply options.

Clare Short: The route of the security fence and its effects on the Palestinian people are unacceptable. The route taken will have a severe impact on Palestinian water rights and access to water resources in Jayyous and other towns and villages near the Green Line. We have made representations at the highest level, both bilaterally and through the EU, to the Government of Israel.

Israel

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department has given to charitable work and projects in the Occupied Territories that have been, or may be, demolished by the Israeli authorities to make way for the concrete separation wall.

Clare Short: The security fence has already severely disrupted the lives of many Palestinians, separating them from their land, water and communities. British funded development projects have not so far been affected, but we will continue to monitor closely this aspect, and the situation more generally.

Small Arms

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the conference on small arms proliferation attended by representatives of her Department on 14 to 15 January.

Clare Short: On 14 and 15 January a conference on Strengthening Export Controls of Small Arms and Light Weapons: Implementing the UN Programme of Action was held at Lancaster House. The Conference was organised by my Department, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence, and was funded from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. I gave the opening address to delegates. The Conference brought together representatives of 49 States that produce or trade small arms and light weapons, as well as representatives of international and non-governmental organisations, in order to discuss strengthening controls on exports and transfers of small arms and light weapons (SALW).
	Some consensus on strengthening export controls had been achieved during the 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects, and the objective of the Lancaster House conference was to make further progress on this issue. Participants discussed better implementation and strengthening of existing export controls and controlling brokers and trafficking of SALW. The Conference identified those areas where there is now considerable consensus and those requiring further work. A full report of the Conference will be published shortly.
	We will use the further opportunity to achieve greater consensus on strengthening export controls in the margins of the UN Biennial Meeting of States in July 2003.

Sudan

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the Sudanese Government in relation to aid available to their internally displaced persons in Southern Sudan.

Clare Short: We have not discussed with the Sudanese Government aid available to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in southern Sudan; however, under the auspices of OCHA, a Displaced Persons Task Force (with representatives from UNDP, UNICEF, IOM and others) has been established to take forward planning for IDP return in the event of peace. The Task Force will also to assist the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in planning around IDP issues and establishing an IDP policy framework.
	With some four million IDPs, Sudan has largest IDP population in the world. We continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, particularly in the south. In the decade since 1991 Britain has pledged over £220 million to help with humanitarian crises in Sudan. This financial year, we have committed approximately £10 million to support life-saving humanitarian work, education, peace building activities (including support for the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development Secretariat and monitors for the Nuba Mountains ceasefire), and anti-slavery work.

Trade Liberalisation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the likely impact on developing countries of trade liberalisation, with particular reference to the control of water supplies.

Clare Short: The impact on developing countries of trade liberalisation depends on a variety of factors such as the nature and extent of initial trade distortions, whether trade liberalisation is comprehensive or limited to a few sectors, and whether other countries also open up their markets. As a result, estimates of impact vary widely. One assessment by the World Bank indicates that comprehensive multilateral trade liberalisation backed up with increased aid for trade related infrastructure (e.g. roads and ports) could lift an additional 300 million people out of poverty by 2015.
	The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) provides the framework for multilateral (WTO) negotiations between countries on the liberalisation of trade in services, including water supply. The GATS is a bottom-up agreement, which means that countries themselves decide whether—and when—to open up their service sectors to foreign competition. Nor does GATS require or encourage countries to privatise public services. Should WTO members choose to involve the private sector, there is nothing under the GATS to prevent or pressure them into a specific public or private service delivery model.
	My Department's priority is to make sure the poor benefit from improved water and sanitation services, through effective regulation and appropriate tariff structures, including subsidies for the poorest, if required. In all water and sanitation services, whether municipalities chose to involve the private sector or not, the principle of cost recovery is important and must be recognised as central to sustainability. Effective institutions that are accountable, representative and transparent are essential to manage and regulate the water sector.

Wildlife and Poverty Study

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about her Department's Wildlife and Poverty Study.

Clare Short: My Department endorses the recently published DFID Wildlife and Poverty Study. The study is available on the DFID website at www.dfid.gov.uk.

CABINET OFFICE

Public Information

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the trends in spending on public information by (a) the UK Government and (b) the European Union in the last five years.

Douglas Alexander: The UK Government have spent the following on advertising in the last five years.
	
		£000s
		
			  Cash expenditure Prices in real terms(10) 
		
		
			 1997–98 60, 000 65,800 
			 1998–99 106,000 110, 600 
			 1999–2000 113, 500 114,100 
			 2000–01 192,400 186,600 
			 2001–02 162, 600 162,600 
		
	
	(10) In real terms at 2001–02 prices based on advertising media inflation rates.
	Source
	COI.
	Advertising is used by Departments when they judge it is the most cost effective way of delivering the publicity necessary to support a policy or proposal. These figures represent the advertising commissioned on behalf of Departments and Agencies by the Central Office of Information. The EC budget finances a variety of EU information programmes, the funding amounts for which are decided on an annual basis by the budgetary authority.

PRIME MINISTER

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what action he has taken against United Kingdom companies which assisted Iraq in providing equipment and material in support of weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Blair: Following the inquiry led by Sir Richard Scott (now Lord Scott of Foscote), the Government has introduced a number of legislative and non-legislative measures to improve the UK export control regime, culminating in the Export Control Act of 2002.
	A number of UK companies and individuals were prosecuted for the supply of goods to Iraq in contravention of legislation in force at the time. The prosecutions were subsequently scrutinised by Lord Scott as part of his inquiry.
	Any further allegations that there have been breaches of export controls in respect of exports to Iraq would require careful examination by HM Customs and Excise, which is responsible for the enforcement of UK export controls.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if, in the event of conflict with Iraq, he will issue a statement of the war aims of the United Kingdom, with particular reference to the post-war government of Iraq.

Tony Blair: No decision to launch military action against Iraq has been taken. Our policy objectives were set out by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his written statement of 7 January 2003, Official Report, column 4WS.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to publish the actions which the Government of Iraq must take in order to avoid conflict with Her Majesty's forces, and the maximum length of time in which those actions must be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to answers I gave at Prime Minister's questions on 5 March 2003, Official Report, columns 808–17.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with other governments about the costs of (a) a conflict in Iraq and (b) the subsequent occupation of the country.

Tony Blair: No decision has been taken to launch military action against Iraq. I regularly discuss all aspects of our Iraq policy with other governments.

Iraq

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister what records the Government has kept of claims by Mr.Hussain Karnell relating to the destruction of weapons by Iraq.

Tony Blair: Mr Kamil's claims were dealt with by UNSCOM, not the UK. UNSCOM's files are now the responsibility of UNMOVIC. It is they that have the most complete records of Iraqi disarmament claims which they share by regular reports to the UN Security Council.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister when he first decided that the possible use of military action to disarm or overthrow Saddam Hussein should become British defence policy.

Tony Blair: No decision to launch military action against Iraq has been taken. Our policy objectives remain as set out by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his written statement of 7 January 2003, Official Report, column 4WS. United Nations Security Council resolution 1441(2002) recalls that the Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violation of its obligations.

Iraq

Colin Challen: To ask the Prime Minister if it is the policy of the Government that the second United Nations resolution on the Iraq crisis will invoke Article 42 of the United Nations Charter.

Tony Blair: The draft resolution tabled by the UK, US and Spain on 24 February makes it clear that the Security Council would be acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which includes Article 42. It does not make specific reference to individual articles of the Charter.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is in respect of providing compensation to families of civilian victims of military action against Iraq.

Tony Blair: No decision to launch military action against Iraq has been taken. The UK is committed to acting in accordance with international law.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 25 February 2003, Official Report, column 123, on Iraq, what the evidential basis was for his statement that Saddam Hussein has used much of the money from the oil-for-food programme for his own and his family's personal use.

Tony Blair: This information comes from a number of sources, including contracts submitted for approval to the UN Sanctions Committee.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister whether Lord Levy has represented him in discussions with overseas governments on policy towards Iraq.

Tony Blair: No.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Peter Robinson: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons he would not hold the Northern Ireland Assembly elections on 29 May.

Tony Blair: We intend that the election will be held on 29 May 2003 and will bring forward legislation to that effect later in the month.

Security and Intelligence Agencies

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister further to his Written Ministerial Statement of 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 58WS, on the Security and Intelligence Agencies' Vote, what the reasons are for (a) the change in resources, (b) the change in capital, (c) the change in administrative costs limits, (d) the change in the security and intelligence agencies DEL, (e) the take up of end of year flexibility, (f) the PES transfer from the MOD, (g) the PES transfer from the Home Office, (h) the transfer from capital to revenue, (i) the take up of end of year flexibility and (j) the PES transfer from the Cabinet Office; what his policy is on increasing resources to public service organisations (i) as a general rule and (ii) in relation to the security and intelligence agencies, when they have received adverse audit reports on how they have handled existing allocated resources; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have nothing to add to the information provided in my Written Statement of 28 February and in the published Estimates and Departmental Reports for the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Detailed information about the Agencies' accounts is outside the scope of the 'Code of Practice on Access to Government Information' (paragraph 6 of part 1). However, there are processes that exist to ensure that the detail of these accounts can be properly scrutinised while maintaining security.
	Government policies on expenditure apply to the Agencies in the same way as to all other departments.

Smoking

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister what policy his Department has adopted on smoking in the workplace.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 7 March 2003.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Community Charge/Council Tax

Andy King: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people able to pay the (a) community charge or (b) council tax refused to do so in each of the last 10 years; and from how many people the taxes could not be recovered by attachment to earnings or benefits.

Christopher Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fine Defaulters

Ben Chapman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the (a) maximum and (b) minimum penalties for non-payment of financial penalties imposed by magistrates' courts.

Yvette Cooper: When a defaulter is brought before the court, the magistrates will have a number of enforcement options available to them. The sanctions to ensure the payment of fines include an attachment of earnings order if the defendant is in employment or deductions from social security benefits if they are not working. The maximum amount that can be deducted from an unemployed person is £2.70 per week. Other options include the issue of a distress warrant, (which empowers the person executing it to seize a person's goods or money to the value of the sum owed), or as a last resort, the court may decide to commit the defaulter to prison. The Courts Bill currently before Parliament proposes a number of new arrangements to facilitate the enforcement of fines, including new penalties such as clamping vehicles and entering the fine in the Register of county court judgments.

TRANSPORT

Car Insurance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with insurance companies on the provision of car insurance for young drivers with an aim to reduce driving without insurance.

David Jamieson: The Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, in reporting on the UK vehicle registration system, recommended a review of the motor insurance industry aimed at reducing uninsured motoring. The Secretary of State established a Modernising Vehicle Registration Implementation Board to take forward the Jill Dando Institute's recommendations. The insurance industry are represented on that board. They have considered a number of matters and we are currently progressing measures which are intended, among other things, to help reduce uninsured driving. The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 already provides that a driver caught driving uninsured within two years of passing his test will have his licence revoked.

Disabled Parking

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirements the Department of Health places on (a) public and (b) private bodies to designate a proportion of parking spaces they provide for disabled only use; and what requirements are placed on such providers to enforce disabled only parking.

David Jamieson: The responsibility for the provision of disabled persons' parking bays on the public highway lies with individual local authorities. They have a wide range of powers available to them to designate parking places for specific users, including bays for use by holders of disabled persons' badges (Blue Badges). The position in private car-parks is different and the conditions of use and provision of parking for disabled people are matters for the individual operators concerned.
	The allocation of parking spaces for disabled people is the subject of a Departmental Traffic Advisory Leaflet (5/95) which includes guidance on the proportion of spaces that might be appropriate. The decision on exactly how many parking spaces to provide, both on and off street, remains one for individual authorities and operators to determine, depending on local circumstances.
	However, under Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (when fully implemented) service providers will be required to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people do not find it impossible or unreasonably difficult to enjoy the service on the same basis as non-disabled people. This will have implications for local authorities and car park operators, who may have to demonstrate that as well as marking out disabled person's parking spaces, they have taken reasonable steps to ensure they are available to disabled people.
	In terms of enforcement of disabled persons' parking bays, there are a wide variety of powers available to local authorities under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to tackle abuse and misuse on-street. For example it is an offence to park a vehicle which is not displaying a badge in a designated disabled persons' parking bay.
	Off-street car parks are private property and the conditions of use are a contractual matter between the owner and the motorist. In these car parks, spaces marked for badge holders only are in most cases not legally enforceable, but depend on the courtesy and consideration of other drivers. Car park operators could ask a non-disabled driver to move their car from a space set aside for disabled people but they might not be in a position to insist upon it.
	The Department has, however, given its full support to the 'Baywatch' campaign run by a coalition of disability organisations (including the Disabled Drivers Association and the Disabled Drivers' Motor Club). They are committed to encouraging greater protection of disabled persons' parking bays in retail car parks from abuse by non-disabled drivers.
	The issue of enforcement was a key part of the major review of the Blue Badge Scheme that we have just completed. Following a public consultation process that ended last year, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the Department's statutory advisers on the transport needs of disabled people, considered responses and submitted 47 recommendations to Ministers on the future shape of the Scheme. I announced in the House on 18 December 2002 that the Government would be taking forward the majority of these, including a number of additional enforcement measures. Details of all the recommendations were placed in the House Libraries on 18 December 2002. The Government will be seeking to implement the changes at the earliest opportunity.
	In the meantime, it is open to anybody to bring instances of fraudulent use to the attention of the police, traffic wardens, the appropriate local authority or car park operators and we will continue to work with these bodies and stakeholder groups to minimise the potential for abuse and misuse.

London Underground

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role the Government had in assisting London Underground PPP Infrastructure Consortia to obtain grants or loans from (a) the European Investment Bank and (b) other financial institutions; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Government has played no direct role in assisting the London Underground PPP consortia to obtain grants or loans. The method by which they finance their obligations under the PPP, and how they raise the necessary funding, is a matter for the consortia.

London Underground

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) train failures, (b) signals/ points failures and (c) track failures there were on each London Underground line (i) in 2001–02 and (ii) in 2002–03.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground who have provided the information set out in the table.
	
		London Underground rolling stock, track and signal failures by line
		
			  Rolling stock failures Track and signal failures 
			 Line 2001–02 2002–03 to date(11) 2001–2002 2002–2003 to date(11) 
		
		
			 Bakerloo 1,113 951 567 273 
			 Central 2,957 2,353 715 586 
			 Circle/Hammersmith and City 2,055 1,720 562 357 
			 District 1,149 1,150 822 694 
			 East London 147 80 94 62 
			 Jubilee 1,427 865 518 312 
			 Metropolitan 1,034 1,067 749 584 
			 Northern 1,518 1,104 531 646 
			 Piccadilly 3,070 2,181 433 283 
			 Waterloo and City 36 60 32 29 
			 Victoria 1,022 949 370 460 
			 Total 15,528 12,480 5,393 4,286 
		
	
	(11) To 1 February 2003

Transport Grants

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the administrative costs were of the (a) Water Freight grant, (b) Mobility grants, (c) Road Safety grants, (d) Clean Up Haulage grant, (e) Clean Up grant, (f) Powershift grant, (g) Track Access grant, (h) Rail Freight grant and (i) Bus Service Operator's grant in the last financial year.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 December 2002, Official Report, column 663W.

Airports

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet a delegation from Essex and Kent on Saturday 5 April to discuss issues surrounding options for an airport in the Thames region.

David Jamieson: Ministers are happy in principle to meet hon. Members with representatives of areas affected by options in the current airports consultation. Although I am unable to make the date suggested by the hon. Member, I am sure that alternative arrangements can be made. I would invite the hon. Member to contact my office.

Airports

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what statutory authority security companies operate at British airports; and what guidance he issues on the criteria to be used in recruiting security firms at British airports.

David Jamieson: Airlines, airports, air cargo agents and aviation caterers are currently directed under sections 12 to 14 of the Aviation Security Act 1982. While they may engage agents to act on their behalf, they remain legally responsible for the security function. Work is under way to create a list of approved providers of aviation security, which will include those companies contracted by Directed parties to provide a service. Such companies will have to meet certain criteria, set down by my Department, before they can deliver security functions at British airports.

Croydon Tramlink

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the arrangement between Amey and Croydon Tramlink regarding the Special Purpose Vehicle is a non-recourse financial arrangement.

David Jamieson: Croydon Tramlink is a matter for the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). I understand that the Tramlink Concession Agreement is between TfL and Tramtrack Croydon Ltd. (TCL). It would not be appropriate for the Government to speculate about TCL's financial arrangements.

Aviation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the impact of the potential use of hand-held surface to air missiles on aviation security.

David Jamieson: My Department's approach is to manage the risk to the industries arising from the threat of a terrorist attack. The security measures imposed seek to minimise the industries' vulnerabilities while recognising operational realities. The Government's aim is to set the measures to counter the risk.
	All the security programmes are kept under continuous review. It is not our practice to detail the required security measures for obvious reasons.

Aviation

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has commissioned as part of the Government's work for the Aviation White Paper.

David Jamieson: The Government have commissioned a substantial body of work in connection with the proposed air transport White Paper. Most of the work has been carried out as part of the Regional Air Services studies relating to the North of England, the Midlands, the South West, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; the Regional Air Services Co-ordination study; and the South East and East of England Regional Air Services study. This work is formally categorised as consultancy rather than research. The relevant reports are listed in the Annexes to the regional consultation documents on the future development of air transport in the United Kingdom, as follows.
	
		
			 Consultation document Annex 
		
		
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: Midlands D 
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East (Second Edition February 2003) C 
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: North of England I 
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South West D 
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: Scotland E 
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: Wales D 
			 The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland D 
		
	
	Copies of the consultation documents have been placed in the House Libraries and are also available on the Department for Transport's website www.aircconsult.gov.uk.
	The Department has also commissioned or is supporting research in a number of areas to inform ongoing policy development. This includes research into the impact of aviation on climate change, the subjective perceptions of noise, Deep Vein Thrombosis, and aircraft engine emissions. In addition, we have offered a substantial contribution to help fund an international study (under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation) into establishing a global emissions trading scheme in which aviation can participate.

Aviation

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many properties have been compulsorily purchased by the Civil Aviation Authority in each year since 1999.

David Jamieson: There has been no compulsory purchase of property by the Civil Aviation Authority since 1999.

Biofuels

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars in the UK run on biofuels; and if he will make a statement on the benefits of the use of biofuels for the environment.

David Jamieson: The best indicator of biofuel use is volume of sales rather than number of vehicles. This has increased significantly since the introduction of a lower rate of duty for biodiesel in July 2002; Customs and Excise figures for January indicate over 400,000 litres of the fuel being sold from around 100 filling stations. The November Pre-Budget Report announced a commitment to introduce a similar preferential duty rate for bioethanol and we would expect a similar pattern of take-up of this new fuel once this has been introduced.
	Biofuels offer a number of environmental benefits compared to conventional mineral fuels. Importantly, they can contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions due to the absorption of carbon dioxide during the growth stage of the biofuel feedstock; recent studies have shown that both biodiesel and bioethanol can reduce emissions by at least 50 per cent. measured over the "life-cycle" of the fuel. In addition, the use of biofuels can help improve air quality, particularly when used in a blend with conventional mineral fuels. Furthermore, the low toxicity and high biodegradability of biodiesel in particular makes its use ideal for sensitive environments such as waterways.
	Biofuels are mainly used in a 5 per cent. blend with conventional fuels. All cars are warranted for use with 5 per cent. blends of biodiesel and bioethanol which meet the respective European Fuel Standards, EN590 and EN228. Biofuels not produced to these standards may damage vehicles and their use will invalidate car manufacturers' warranties. It is also an offence to use fuel on which the relevant duty has not been paid.

Registration Numbers

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the matter of cloned number plates on vehicles; what action in relation to it is planned; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: We are extremely concerned about the apparent increase in vehicle cloning in order to avoid road traffic enforcement cameras. We are taking action to tackle this difficult problem.
	Since 1 January 2003 it has been a requirement for suppliers of number plates to be registered with DVLA. To date over 26,000 outlets have registered. This will ensure that in future number plates are only sold by registered suppliers to a purchaser who can show proof of entitlement and identity. Records will be kept of all sales for inspection by the police and local authority trading standards officers. Plates already have to be marked with the details of the producer.
	In addition, in order to prevent the theft of number plates from vehicles for the purpose of cloning, consideration is being given to the use of additional security features designed to establish a clear and visible link between a number plate and the vehicle on which it should be displayed. The use of more secure fixings is also under urgent investigation.

Highways Agency

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the Highways Agency's performance in registering with the Land Registry its acquisition of land; whether a system is in place to ensure acquired land is registered; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State has not made a specific assessment of the performance of the Highways Agency in registering the acquisition of land with the Land Registry. Solicitors acting for the Agency register land as a matter of course following the acquisition of title.

Congestion Charging

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the London Congestion Scheme on overcrowding on suburban rail routes into London.

David Jamieson: Transport for London (TfL) has projected an increase in overall public transport use of 1–2 per cent. as a result of the introduction of congestion charging. TfL expect that there will be about 5,000 additional passengers on London Underground and national rail services in the morning peak (7–10 am). This is around one extra person per carriage.
	TfL are assessing rail patronage using both existing data and an enhanced programme of station and terminal counts at locations in and around the charging zone. TfL will be publishing a comprehensive report detailing all the effects of congestion charging early next year.

Motorways

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of the number of journeys on English motorways each (a) day and (b) year, broken down by (i) cars, (ii) lorries and (iii) other vehicles; what information is available to break these figures down by each such motorway; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: This information is unavailable in the format requested. Statistical information can be found in the document entitled Transport Statistics, Road Traffic Statistics: 2001 and Transport Statistics Bulletin—Traffic in Great Britain: Q4 2002 Data. Access to both these documents can be found at the following websites: http://www.transtat.dft.gov.uk/tables/2002/rts/rts01.htm and www.transtat.dft.gov.uk/qbullets/qtraff.htm.
	I have arranged for copies of the downloaded document to be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Motorways

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the marginal cost to the (a) motorist, (b) other motorists and (c) society of each marginal additional mile of travel on the M25 motorway for each period of the day; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: No estimate at this level of detail is available for the marginal costs of travel on the M25 motorway.

Trust Ports

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 5 March 2003, ref 100668, which of the first ports identified are classified as non-fishery.

David Jamieson: The non-fishery trust ports on that list are:
	Caernarfon;
	Chichester;
	Dover;
	Falmouth;
	Harwich;
	Langstone;
	Littlehampton;
	Port of London;
	Milford Haven;
	Orford;
	Poole;
	Sandwich;
	Shoreham;
	Teignmouth; and
	Port of Tyne.

Trust Ports

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 5 March 2003, ref 100668, when a decision will be taken as to whether the ports fall within the classification as public corporations; and what the cause of UK present uncertainty is.

David Jamieson: As soon as we are able to assess the full impact of the proposed classification, my officials will resume discussions with the Office of National Statistics and the Treasury.

Trust Ports

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the latest annual account of (a) non-fishery trust ports, and (b) fishery trust ports.

David Jamieson: Although non-fishery trust ports are required to submit their annual accounts to the Secretary of State, the obligation to make them publicly available lies with the individual harbour authorities, not my Department. Copies of the annual reports and accounts for each trust port, both fishery and non-fishery, are available from the individual authorities.

Railways

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on their (a) objectives, (b) accountability, (c) pay awards and (d) performance bonuses.

David Jamieson: My right. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State meets the Chairman of Network Rail on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues. Pay awards and performance bonuses are a matter for Network Rail, subject to its licence conditions. These require the preparation of an annual management incentive plan and set out the broad parameters of such a plan.

Railways

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he was consulted on the Strategic Rail Authority's latest announcement on cuts to rail services to Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 7 March 2003
	The changes to the rail service to Liverpool were made by the SRA to improve the operational effectiveness of the UK rail network. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, was consulted on these changes and fully supports the SRA's strategy to improve the reliability of train services.

Railways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the level of investment in the national railway infrastructure.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) on 4 March 2003, Official Report, column 942W.

Railways

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff have been employed by the Office of the Rail Regulator in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 46W.

Rolling Stock

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with (a) the Strategic Rail Authority, (b) South West Trains and (c) Connex South Eastern on their Mark I replacement programme; and when the last Mark I stock will be replaced for each of the operators;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority on (a) the delay to the replacement of Mark I carriages, (b) the safety implications of the delay and (c) compensation claims for the inoperability of new rolling stock.

David Jamieson: The Government has regular meetings with the Strategic Rail Authority covering a range of issues including Mark 1 replacement. The SRA is leading an industry wide Mark 1 replacement programme to ensure that all Mark 1 rolling stock is removed from the Network by 31 December 2004. Because of the failure of Railtrack to ensure an adequate power supply for the South London Network, it has become clear that it may be necessary to provide for around 300–350 vehicles to operate on the network after December 2004 but the SRA expects these vehicles to be removed from the network in Spring 2005. From 1 April 2003 all Mark 1 vehicles will be fitted with Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), which seeks to prevent a collision by providing automatic braking if trains pass red signals or travel at excessive speed. Compensation is a commercial matter between the relevant parties.

Motoring Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce motoring costs in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: National statistics show that average motoring costs—for motorists in rural areas and elsewhere—have fallen by 5 per cent. in real terms since 1997. This fall is primarily due to lower car prices which we have encouraged through greater retail competition. We have also reduced vehicle excise duty for motorists who use fuel-efficient cars and introduced fuel duty incentives for clean fuels—all of which rural motorists can benefit from.

Roads

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of funding new trunk roads in the private sector through road tolls; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: There has been no general assessment of funding new trunk roads in the private sector through road tolls.

Roads

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate is of the total external social costs in pence per average vehicle mile for road travel in the United Kingdom accounted for by (a) congestion costs, (b) accident costs, (c) air pollution costs, (d) noise pollution costs and (e) climate change costs; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: A study commissioned by my Department from the Institute for Transport Studies 1 at the University of Leeds made the following estimates of the marginal external social cost of road use per vehicle kilometre in Great Britain:
	a) Congestion costs : 9.71 to 11.16 pence
	b) Accident costs : 0.82 to 1.40 pence
	c) Air pollution costs: 0.34 to 1.70 pence
	d) Noise pollution costs: 0.02 to 0.78 pence
	e) Climate change costs: 0.15 to 0.62 pence
	1 Surface Transport Costs and Charges, Great Britain 1998, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds July 2001.

Roads

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the total growth in vehicle miles travelled on United Kingdom roads in each year from 1980–81 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The year on year growth rates for vehicle miles travelled from 1980–81 to 2002–03 are detailed in the table.
	
		Percentage
		
			 Year All Motor Vehicles 
		
		
			 1980 6.2 
			 1981 1.8 
			 1982 2.7 
			 1983 1.3 
			 1984 5.2 
			 1985 2.2 
			 1986 5.1 
			 1987 7.7 
			 1988 7.2 
			 1989 8.3 
			 1990 1.0 
			 1991 0.2 
			 1992 0.1 
			 1993 0.0 
			 1994 2.5 
			 1995 2.0 
			 1996 2.7 
			 1997 2.3 
			 1998 1.5 
			 1999 1.7 
			 2000 0.3 
			 2001 1.3 
			 2002 2.4 
		
	
	The figures on which these are based have been published in the Transport Statistics Bulletin (02)23—Road Traffic Statistics: 2001 (Table 1.1) and Transport Statistics (03)5—Traffic in Great Britain: Q4 2002 Data, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library.

Strategic Rail Authority

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the funding of the special purpose vehicle projects being pursued by the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will list the companies with which the Strategic Rail Authority is negotiating regarding SPV projects.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority is developing its model for procurement of projects, including those in which SPVs may play a role, in discussion with Network Rail. Projects are under preparation but are not yet at the negotiating stage.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what budget (a) resource, (b) capital and (c) in total has been provided by his Department to the Strategic Rail Authority in each year since it has been in operation, including in its shadow form, and projected to 2004–05 (i) at out-turn prices and (ii) at today's prices.

David Jamieson: The table provides the information requested, for the years from 1999–2000 to 2004–05.
	
		£ million
		
			  Resource Capital Total 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Outturn prices
			 1999–2000 1,110.7 0.2 1,110.9 
			 2000–01 1,036.3 4.6 1,040.9 
			 2001–02 1,248.3 623.7 1,872.0 
			 2002–03 1,407.4 944.1 2,351.5 
			 2003–04 3,370.1 -19.0 3,351.1 
			 2004–05 3,408.0 -4.0 3,404.0 
			 
			 2002–03 prices
			 1999–2000 1,192.0 0.2 1,192.2 
			 2000–01 1,087.2 4.9 1,092.1 
			 2001–02 1,279.5 639.3 1,918.8 
			 2002–03 1,407.4 944.1 2,351.5 
			 2003–04 3,296.0 -18.6 3,277.4 
			 2004–05 3,251.6 -3.8 3,247.8 
		
	
	From 1 April 2003 capital grants to the private sector will be classified as resource instead of capital. This is why the figures in the resource column increase from 2003–04 onwards. In 2003–04 and 2004–05, the negative capital figures reflect the fact that the main capital item is income from property sales.

Strategic Rail Authority

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether any specific liabilities of the Strategic Rail Authority, beyond those detailed in his Minutes to Parliament of 27 June 2002, are comprised within the comfort letter proposed to be issued to the Strategic Rail Authority, as set out in the Secretary of State's Minute of 3 February;
	(2)  what requirements for accountability to Parliament he intends to apply to the Strategic Rail Authority in respect of its receipt of guarantees from public funds for its borrowings;
	(3)  if he will inform the House if his current intentions as regards the matters contained in his proposed comfort letter to the Strategic Rail Authority (3 February 2003 written statement) were to change;
	(4)  whether the contingent liabilities of the Strategic Rail Authority which are proposed to be the subject of a comfort letter from him would score against public sector debt;
	(5)  pursuant to his written statement of 3 February, for what reason his power to guarantee the Strategic Rail Authority's borrowing under Schedule 14 of the Transport Act 2000 is confined to "sums which the SRA borrows temporarily"; and how he defines "temporarily" in this context;
	(6)  whether the contingent liabilities of the Strategic Rail Authority in respect of which he proposes to issue a comfort letter includes (a) the Bridge Facility I, (b) the KfW facilities, (c) the EIB facilities and (d) the legacy working capital facility, as set out in Minutes from him laid before Parliament on 27 June 2002;
	(7)  whether any limit (a) has been and (b) is intended to be set in relation to the contingent liabilities of the Strategic Rail Authority which are proposed to be the subject of a comfort letter from the Secretary of State, as set out in his minute of 3 February;
	(8)  what limit on contingent liabilities, which may be the subject of the proposed comfort letter to the Strategic Rail Authority from him as proposed in his Minute to Parliament of 3 February, is consistent with the Strategic Rail Authority's current (a) agreed budget and (b) financial framework;
	(9)  under what circumstances his statement in paragraph 12 of his proposed comfort letter to the Strategy Rail Authority, that the letter does not create binding obligations and should not be construed as a guarantee, would override his current intention as set out in paragraph 11.

David Jamieson: The contingent liabilities notified to Parliament on 27 June 2002 were in respect of the SRA's specific obligations for the support arrangements for Network Rail. These included support for the Bridge Facility, the KfW facility, the EEB facility, and the legacy working capital facility. The SRA comfort letter notified to Parliament on 3 February 2003 covers the generality of the SRA's financial obligations, and therefore covers, inter alia, the specific obligations notified in June.
	It is not possible to quantify or limit the contingent liabilities in respect of the SRA comfort letter beyond the provisos set out in the letter, especially at paragraphs 9 to 11. The SRA is required to operate within its agreed budget and financial framework.
	Any new contingent liabilities in respect of the SRA, or any significant changes to the nature or size of existing contingent liabilities, will be notified to Parliament in accordance with Government Accounting. Under UK accounting standards, a liability is defined as contingent if it is dependent on uncertain future events or is not likely to be called. Contingent liabilities do not score as public sector debt.
	The Minute accompanying the proposed SRA comfort letter summarises the Secretary of State's statutory powers to finance the SRA. In particular it notes the Secretary of State's opinion that he has no legal power to guarantee the performance of the SRA's financial obligations apart from the provision in Schedule 14 of the Transport Act 2000 in respect of temporary borrowing by the SRA from another person. Temporary borrowing is intended to cover borrowing such as by way of overdraft or bridging facility, where moneys are not intended to be advanced on a long-term basis .
	There are currently no such guarantees from public funds for any temporary borrowing by the SRA. If any such guarantees were to be given by the Secretary of State, or where any sum were to be paid out in fulfilling a guarantee, then notification to each House of Parliament is required in accordance with the provisions of the Transport Act 2000.
	The statement in paragraph 12 of the SRA comfort letter, that it does not create legal obligations, reflects the legal position in respect of that letter. It is compatible with the statement of the Secretary of State's current intentions in paragraph 11 of the comfort letter.

Trafficmaster Detectors

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Trafficmaster detectors on motorways and trunk roads are equipped with lenses capable of reading vehicle registration numbers; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Trafficmaster units on the motorway and trunk road network use two types of detector. The model using an infrared beam is not fitted with lenses. The other type incorporates a camera that reads vehicle registration marks.
	To preserve privacy, equipment at the roadside removes the first and last characters of each number plate read by the cameras. The remaining characters are encrypted and processed to create a unique Identifier which is used to calculate the average speed of a batch of vehicles. No other information about a vehicle is recorded, and after two hours, the Identifiers are discarded.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of British operations in Afghanistan in each month since operations began.

Adam Ingram: The monthly totals for 2001–02 are as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Month  
			 September 13.677 
			 October 12.016 
			 November 25.942 
			 December 27.775 
			 January 25.335 
			 February 24.358 
			 March 92.285 
			 Total 221.388 
		
	
	I regret that since 2002–03 figures have not been audited, it might be misleading for me to provide that information on a monthly basis until the NAO audit has been completed. The forecast annual cost is £376 million.

Anthrax Immunisation

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces offered voluntary immunisation against anthrax received the vaccine at (a) zero weeks, (b) three weeks, (c) six weeks and (d) six months into the course; what percentage of the total offered vaccination this represents; and if he will break down these figures by service.

Lewis Moonie: Up to 12 February 2003, the period for which most recent figures are available, the data requested are as follows:
	
		
			 Service Offered Accepted Percentage 
		
		
			 Royal Navy (including Royal Marines) 3,581 1,346 38 
			 Army 6,466 4,340 67 
			 Royal Air Force 8,572 3,840 44 
			 Other (including Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Joint NEC Regiment and civilians) 1,160 569 49 
			 Total 19,779 10,095 51 
		
	
	Immunisation against anthrax is recorded in an individual's medical records when it is administered. However, it takes time for copies of these details to be passed back to Ministry of Defence and entered into central records, hence these figures do not include personnel most recently included in the programme. We are confident that a majority of personnel now deploying to the Gulf will opt to receive immunisation against anthrax, and expect take-up to improve further as the programme expands. Up-to-date information on second, third and subsequent immunisations could be only provided at disproportionate cost.

Anti-personnel Mines

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on compliance by the UK with the Ottawa Convention on the use of anti-personnel mines.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom is fully in compliance with its obligations under the Ottawa Convention.

Astute Submarine

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the delay in the Astute Submarine in service date will affect the Astute Class Training Service run by DSEI; what the cost will be to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: A contract for the provision of an Astute Class Training Service was placed with FAST Training Services Ltd in September 2001. The Department is currently evaluating the impact of realigning the training programme to take account of delays in the ASTUTE submarine programme. A decision on the way ahead, based on the best value for money solution is expected later this year.

Civil Aircraft Contracts

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what experience of tenders for civil aircraft contracts was available to the assessor of the Wattisham Air Traffic contract.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 6 March 2003
	I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the competence of the technical assessor of the bids for the second Wattisham Air Traffic contract. The Wattisham contract was for the provision of air traffic control services, associated equipment maintenance and simulator services. As the most significant proportion of the contract was for air traffic control services for the Ministry of Defence, the most appropriate technical assessor was a military air traffic controller. Against this background it was not considered necessary for the assessor to have had experience of civil air traffic contracting.

Civil Aircraft Contracts

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the main differences were between the risk assessments used in the first and second assessments of the Wattisham Air Traffic contract.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 6 March 2003
	The risk assessment used in the second competition for the Wattisham Air Traffic Contract benefited from lessons learnt in the first competition. The second competition utilised a better defined requirement, a more rigorous and explicit approach to the risk assessment and a different assessment team—all of which improved the quality of the risk assessment overall.

CVF Project

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether industrial co-operation between France and the United Kingdom on the CVF project will have an impact on his Department's contractual arrangements with (a) BAE Systems and (b) Thales UK;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the proposed Anglo-French co-operation on the CVF aircraft carrier project.

Adam Ingram: While we have been exchanging information and discussing carrier procurement issues with the French Government, to date there has been no Anglo-French co-operation on CVF at the industry to industry level. As a result of France's decision to buy a second aircraft carrier we are exploring potential areas for co-operation—such as transferring design information and facilitating, in due course, industry to industry links—to inform the French decision-making process. Much will depend on the procurement route and solution selected by France. It is not envisaged that industrial co-operation will impact on our procurement strategy and our relationship with BAE Systems or Thales UK.

CVF Project

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the firms bidding for the CVF project are estimated to have spent on their participation in the competition.

Adam Ingram: From the start of the CVF Assessment phase contract in November 1999 to the end of the competitive stage on 20 November 2002, the Ministry of Defence paid around £39 million (VAT inclusive) to both BAE Systems and Thales UK. Additional spending by the companies is a matter for them.

Dean Hill

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether plans for the closure of Dean Hill munitions depot remain as before; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The closure of Dean Hill munitions depot remains on track and it is planned to cease operations by 1 April 2004.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 55W, on Gibraltar, whether the Government of Gibraltar have requested a meeting to discuss commemoration of 300 years of British sovereignty.

Adam Ingram: The Government of Gibraltar have not requested any meeting with either British Forces Gibraltar or the Ministry of Defence to discuss the commemoration of 300 years of British sovereignty.

Home Defence

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the UK's home defence capability.

Geoff Hoon: Defence and security within the United Kingdom are primarily the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. The Ministry of Defence's contribution, including the enhancements currently being implemented, were described in Section 5 of the White Paper "The Strategic Defence Review: A New Chapter" (CM5566 vol. 1), presented to Parliament on 18 July 2002.

Media and Communications (Gulf)

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel from his Department with responsibility for media and communications operations are (a) in the Gulf and (b) on their way to the Gulf; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As at 7 March 2002, the Ministry of Defence had 160 specialist media operations staff deployed to the Gulf. There is one more member of staff due to be deployed within the next week.

Mines

Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on new technologies for detecting and removing landmines; if he will list such new technologies that have been tested in the field; under what conditions such technologies have been tested; and in which mine-affected countries they are now operational.

Adam Ingram: Research into mine detection, and destruction or removal, continues to be undertaken by several firms in the United Kingdom. A wide range of technologies have been tested, including: ground penetrating radar; magnetometers (sometimes combined with GPS locating equipment); aerial platforms for mine detection equipment; vehicle mounted mine detection and marking equipment; mine destruction flails; mine destruction and lifting rotators and scarifiers; and pyrotechnic disposal tools. Tests have included remote controlled equipment of all types. Testing work has also been carried out with explosive and mine detection dogs.
	Technologies have been tested under control conditions against dummy targets (for example, a known number of targets buried at a known depth in a known location and in a certain type of soil), in dummy minefields laid in typical conditions found in various parts of the world, and under control conditions against live targets. Equipment that is derived from or has benefited from these tests is operational in the Middle and Far East, in Africa, and in Europe (including Bosnia and Kosovo).

Mines

Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel are involved in landmine clearance; and in which countries they are working.

Adam Ingram: There are no British troops currently involved in landmine clearance. British troops may be required to clear mines on a war fighting deployment in support of operations. They may also be required to carry out limited mine clearance operations or operations other than war if the local situation demands. However, mine clearance on humanitarian operations will normally be passed to appropriate United Nations or civilian contractors.

No-fly Zones

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since October 2002 coalition aircraft patrolling the southern no-fly zone in Iraq have (a) detected violations of the no-fly zones, (b) detected a direct threat to a coalition aircraft and (c) responded in self defence; how much ordnance was released in each month since October 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 March 2003
	The information requested is only currently available up to the end of January. No-fly zone (NFZ) violations are detected in several ways, though rarely by tactical aircraft. The number of violations recorded, by month, in the southern no-fly zone, is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 October 2002 2 
			 November 2002 2 
			 December 2002 9 
			 January 2003 2 
		
	
	
		Coalition aircraft recorded threats on a total of 113 occasions, as follows
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 October 2002 14 
			 November 2002 48 
			 December 18 
			 January 2003 33 
		
	
	Coalition aircraft in the southern NFZ responded in self defence against Iraqi Air Defence targets on 41 occasions in the period, and released 128.4 tons of ordnance.
	
		Responses conducted in self defence
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 October 2002 6 
			 November 2002 10 
			 December 2002 13 
			 January 2003 12 
		
	
	
		Tonnage of ordance released
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 October 2002 17.7 
			 November 2002 33.6 
			 December 2002 53.2 
			 January 2003 23.9

Operation Telic

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many urgent operational requirements (UORs) there are in respect of Operation Telic, and if he will list them, together with the total value, broken down where available by individual urgent operation requirement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 6 March 2003
	Over 170 urgent operational requirements (UORs) have been approved at a value of around £500 million for equipment related to Operation Telic. The broad categories into which these can be broken down are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Category Description 
		
		
			 Force protection Including measures to enhance situational awareness and platform protection, and to maximise Combat ID inter-operability with US forces. 
			 Modifications for desert operations Action to address the lessons identified from Exercise SAIF SAREEA II and enhance, inter alia, the performance of Challenger 2 and AS90 in desert conditions. 
			 Close-quarter fighting A range of measures including additional light machine guns and enhanced night vision and thermal imaging equipment. 
			 Precision munitions Increased stocks of precision munitions in accordance with lessons identified from operations in Kosovo. 
			 Secure communications A range of measures to ensure interoperability with US forces at both unit and platform level. 
			 NBC protection A range of measures to protect UK forces from any CBRN threat. 
			 Medical support Includes enhancements to field hospital infrastructure and medical equipment. 
			 Support equipment Including additional Temporary Deployable Accommodation (TDA), support to logistics operations, water and fuel distribution. 
		
	
	These measures do not include the additional purchase of stock, such as clothing, which are not obtained by the UOR process.

Service Personnel (Welfare)

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms exist for servicemen and women on operations to raise concerns and complaints about their welfare; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: The provision of operational and non-operational welfare support to Service personnel and their families is a high priority within the Armed Forces personnel strategy and in particular during operational deployments. Welfare is part of the unit commander's responsibility, supported by welfare staff both within the operational theatre and at home. There are a number of avenues through which a Service person can raise a welfare concern. These include the officer commanding their unit or section, the Chaplain and medical staff. The specific procedures, which apply equally to operational and non-operational duty, are publicised to Service personnel through normal briefing arrangements. Welfare support is also available to the families at home.
	In the event of a complaint, there are the Service Redress of Complaints procedures. These procedures are enshrined in the Services Discipline Acts. They apply equally to welfare as to any other issue and provide the statutory right for all personnel to state a complaint and have it reviewed at successively higher levels in the Service. The principle is to deal with a complaint in an effective, fair and timely manner at the lowest appropriate level but with provision for escalation if it cannot be resolved there.

South Korea

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British warships have made a visit to South Korea in each of the past five years.

Adam Ingram: The number of Royal Navy ship visits to South Korea in each of the past five years is detailed below. For completeness visits by Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels are also included. HMS Nottingham had been programmed to visit South Korea towards the end of September 2002 but the visit was subsequently cancelled following her grounding off the east coast of Australia in July 2002.
	No visits have been undertaken so far during 2003.
	
		
			 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 HMS GRAFTON (Chinhae 11 to 13 October) Nil HMS CORNWALL (Pusan 31 August to 4 September) Nil Nil 
			 HMS GRAFTON (Pusan 13 to 17 October)  HMS NEWCASTLE (Pusan 31 August to 4 September)   
			   RFA FORT VICTORIA (Pusan 31 August to 4 September)   
			   RFA FORT VICTORIA (Pohang 15 September)

Uranium-tipped Ammunition

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance has been given to British troops regarding the (a) handling and (b) use of uranium-tipped rounds.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State gave on 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 508W to my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson).

Uranium-tipped Ammunition

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British forces destined for the Gulf have been equipped with uranium-tipped rounds.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 January 2003, Official Report, column 858W to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Airline Passengers (Deportations)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passengers have been removed from the United Kingdom on scheduled airlines pursuant to Government deportation or removal orders under section 27 of the Immigration Act 1971 in each of the last three years; and at what cost to public funds.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 6 March 2003
	No passengers have been removed under section 27 of the Immigration Act 1971.
	This section of the Act refers to offences committed by carriers rather than passengers. It does not contain powers for removal.
	Section 27 makes it an offence for a captain of a ship or aircraft to knowingly permit a person to disembark when this is prevented under schedules 2 or 3 of the 1971 Act, or to fail to make arrangements for a person's removal under this Act.
	The power to remove persons refused leave to enter and illegal entrants lies in schedule 2 of the 1971 Act. Paragraph 9 of that schedule provides for removal at the carrier's expense and paragraph 10 provides for removal at public expense. Schedule 3 to the 1971 Act allows the Secretary of State to set removal directions pursuant to a deportation order, with the expenses defrayed by the Secretary of State. Section 10(6) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 gives a power to set removal directions for persons who breach their conditions of leave or who obtain leave to remain by deception. The costs must be met by the Secretary of State.

Asylum Seekers

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure that unaccompanied child asylum seekers are not recruited for (a) sexual exploitation, (b) child labour and (c) other forms of child exploitation.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	Unaccompanied, asylum-seeking children are supported by councils with social services responsibilities, in accordance with the duties laid on them by the Children Act 1989. The Act draws no distinction between such children and other children in need.
	Children at risk of becoming involved in prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation are likely to be in need of welfare services and, in many cases, protection under the Children Act 1989.
	Where there is a risk to the life of a child or a likelihood of serious harm, an agency with statutory child protection powers, such as the police or councils with social services responsibilities, should act quickly to secure the immediate safety of the child. In some cases, it may be necessary to ensure either that the child remains in, or is removed to, a safe place. Under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, a local authority may provide accommodation for any child within its area if it considers that this would safeguard or promote the child's welfare.
	When a child is identified as at risk of being drawn into prostitution or other commercial sexual exploitation, an assessment of the child's needs will be undertaken in accordance with "Safeguarding Children Involved in Prostitution" (2000) and "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (1999), the Government's child protection guidance, and the "Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families" (2000). This assessment should be followed by consideration of how best to address the identified needs of the child and the development of a care plan. The plan could include a range of services.
	The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 is the primary legislation governing child employment. The legislation is intended to protect children and young people who are being employed. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with the legislation and any related local byelaws.

Asylum Seekers

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to agree a target figure for the removal of asylum seekers whose claims are judged to be unfounded.

Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary during Home Office oral questions on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 13. In his reply my right hon. Friend said 'Within weeks of taking over as Home Secretary, I made it clear to the House that the original intention, the technical commitment that had been made in relation to the number of people who could be removed from the country was not feasible. I indicated then that it would be more sensible to have commitment related to a proportion of the intake and that we should switch our energies into preventing entry by strengthening our borders. That is precisely what I have done in the past 20 months'.
	The Public Service Agreement (PSA) in 2003–04 remains the same as in the PSA 2000 i.e. to enforce the immigration laws more effectively by removing a greater proportion of failed asylum seekers.

Asylum Seekers

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers known to his Department are in the UK and not in receipt of any kind of benefit; and how many there were at the same date in each of the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 6 March 2003
	The requested information is not available.
	Statistics on the number of asylum seekers who are supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) are available on the Home Office's Immigration and Asylum Statistics website: http://www.homeoffice. gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum Seekers

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances work permits can be issued to asylum seekers who do not have jobs.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 17 February 2003
	None. The United Kingdom's work permit arrangements are employer-led. It is for the employer to apply for a work permit in respect of a specific post.

Asylum Seekers

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans are in place for Iraqi asylum seekers already in the UK should war be declared on Iraq.

Beverley Hughes: No decision has yet been taken to launch military action against Iraq. Appropriate arrangements are, however, being put in place to deal with the consequences, should such action be taken. Those arrangements cover the situation of Iraqi asylum seekers already in the United Kingdom.

Chorley Hospital

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking with the Department of Health to provide more resources to Chorley Hospital in order to cope with the number of prisoners being treated at the hospital.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	Responsibility for meeting the costs of prisoners' medical treatment in hospital lies entirely with the national health service. Allocations made to primary care trusts include provision for the costs of such services.

Clearsprings Management

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the work Clearsprings Management Ltd. undertakes for the National Asylum Support Service;
	(2)  for what reason Clearsprings Management Ltd. requires a confidentiality agreement from landlords; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Clearsprings Management Ltd. has a contract with the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to provide accommodation for destitute asylum seekers. As part of the contract, Clearsprings Management Ltd. is required to respect a confidentiality clause. This is primarily to protect the identities and location of asylum seekers accommodated within their properties. To enable it to comply with the terms of its contract with NASS, Clearsprings Management Ltd. would need to ensure that its contracts with subcontractors also included a confidentiality clause.

Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter dated 13 December 2002, from the hon. Member for Totnes, concerning the status of Mr. Fahrettin Yalcin of Brixham, Devon, which was transferred to his Department from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for reply; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in replying.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 7 March 2003
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 6 March.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of (a) 13 November 2002, reference 22406/2 and (b) 26 September 2002, reference 19999/2; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in replying.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 10 February 2003
	The information is as follows:
	(a) I wrote to the hon. Member on 4 March in response to his letter of 13 November 2002.
	(b) My noble Friend Lord Filkin, responded to the hon. Member's letter of 26 September on 11 February 2003.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 23 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Ahmed.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 20 February 2003.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he will reply to the letter to him dated 20 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Mark Kissingu;
	(2)  why he has not replied to the letter to him dated 20 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Mark Kissingu.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 March 2003.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  for what reasons he has not replied to the letter to him dated 23 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Lutfi;
	(2)  why he has not replied to the letter to him dated 23 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Lutfi.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 7 March 2003.

Criminal Records Bureau

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the inquiry headed by Patrick Carter into the Criminal Records Bureau cost.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 6 March 2003
	The estimate cost of the independent review of the Criminal Records Bureau is £585,000. This includes the costs of various consultancies in support of the review.

Criminal Records Bureau

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the vetting of nannies by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Child care workers operating in child care settings regulated by Ofsted or the National Care Standards Commission are vetted through the Criminal Records Bureau. Nannies or other child care workers who care for children in the child's own home are not regulated by Ofsted, and therefore, are not vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau.
	However, parents wanting to secure a nanny who has been vetted by the Bureau can go to a registered agency offering to supply such a nanny.

Criminal Records Bureau

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many volunteers have requested checks through the Criminal Records Bureau; how many have been processed; and when he expects the backlog to be cleared to meet the processing time target.

Hilary Benn: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has received 160,000 applications from people in the voluntary sector. To date 135,000 have been processed and a percentage of the outstanding applications are under three weeks old.
	The latest figures show that 51,857 of all the applications being processed are older than three weeks, that is to say, outside the published service standard of three weeks. This figure does not include incomplete or incorrect applications that have had to be sent back to the customer before they can be processed.
	I am unable to confirm exactly when the backlog of outstanding applications will be cleared. It is, however, falling steadily and equates to less than two weeks' output. When compared against the number of outstanding applications in October 2002, 115,483, and the last week in January 2003, 62,687, there has been a steady improvement in performance.

Emergency Planning

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance on emergency planning has been issued to local authorities.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	The most recent guidance issued to local authorities, emergency services and other responding agencies on emergency planning was 'The Decontamination of people exposed to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) substances or material: Strategic National Guidance'. Its publication was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement by the Minister of State for the Home Department, on 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 3WS.
	'Dealing with Disaster' (3rd Edition) is currently being revised and will be published by the middle of this year. This forms the core guidance to local authorities and other responders for emergency planning and response to all types of emergencies.
	Guidance on the 'Response to the deliberate release of chemicals and biological agents: guidance to local authorities' was issued in October 2001 by the Cabinet Office. This is currently being updated by the Home Office and will be re-issued in the next two months.

Emergency Planning

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to make available to the public an information booklet for emergency planning in the event of a terrorist attack; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: holding answer 25 February 2003
	The Government keeps under constant review its arrangements to ensure that the public has the best possible advice about the threat in the United Kingdom. Any general advice has to be carefully considered, to ensure that it is neither too vague nor too comprehensive to be useful, given the many different forms that threat may conceivably take. We already publish information on the current security position on the Government's emergency planning website, www.ukresilience.info, together with practical advice as and when necessary in connection with specific alerts, for example handling suspect packages. That site contains a wide range of emergency planning information and links to other United Kingdom government department sites and related sites around the world, which interested members of the public can explore in depth. The Government will ensure that the advice which it provides strikes the right balance between keeping the public informed and not provoking unnecessary anxiety.
	I also announced to the House on 3 March, a new website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism to ensure the public has more access to information about terrorism and how best to protect themselves.

Illegal Meat Imports

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted in the last 12 months for illegal importation of meat products in their personal luggage on arrival at UK airports.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	Figures on prosecutions for the illegal importation of meat are not collected centrally. Responsibility for prosecutions lies with local authorities. We are, however, aware of one successful prosecution last year, brought by Crawley borough council in July 2002. The Corporation of London Port Health Authority issued six cautions in October 2002.
	A decision to bring a prosecution before the courts is a matter for the enforcement authority. They would take a number of factors into account, including the weight of evidence to prove intent to break the laws in question, and the ability to bring the offender before the British courts. These criteria may not be easy to satisfy in the case of air passengers bringing in meat illegally, especially where small quantities are seized.
	In many cases, other penalties may be more appropriate. Seizures are confiscated and destroyed. We have been working with the Home Office to add details of repeat offenders to the warning index used by immigration officers.

Metropolitan Police

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what surveys his Department has made of the views of people living within the Metropolitan police area on the efficiency of the police force; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The British Crime Survey asks all respondents a general question regarding how good a job they think the police are doing. Findings for this question are available by police force area and therefore for the Metropolitan police area. The latest findings from this question have been published in "Crime in England and Wales 2001–02: Supplementary Volume 01/03" (table 8.03). A copy can be found in the Library. These results can also be found in the Police Performance Monitoring 2001–02 publication.

Office for Civil Nuclear Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role was played by the Government's Office for Civil Nuclear Security in the preparation of the "National Guidance on Decontamination Following the Accidental or Deliberate Release of Dangerous Material", published on 3 February 2003; and what steps he has taken to publicise this guidance to relevant bodies and individuals.

John Denham: Advice on civil nuclear issues to inform the "Strategic National Guidance on the Decontamination of People Exposed to CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) Substances or Material" was obtained through the Department of Trade and Industry.
	Following the written ministerial statement I made on 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 3WS, a press release announcing the publication of the guidance was issued. The document has been placed on the Home Office and UK Resilience websites. Stakeholder organisations, including Government Departments, the emergency services and local government have been asked to ensure that their members are made aware that copies of the guidance can be downloaded and to place links to the document on their own websites. Notification of the publication has also been sent directly to Emergency Planning Officers.

Police

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of policing (a) the Iraq demonstration on 15 February and (b) the last Countryside Rally in London.

John Denham: I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the total cost of policing the 'Stop the war' demonstration on 15 February was £965,238 and the total cost of policing the Countryside Alliance Mass Lobby of Parliament on 16 December 2002 was £163,000.

Police

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on administration by each English police authority in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The information is not held centrally.

Police

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are in each police force area in England and Wales; and how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian support staff there were in England and Wales in each year since 1996.

John Denham: The information requested is provided in the tables. By 31 March 2002, police service strength had reached the record number of 129,603, on track for the Government's targets of 130,000 by March 2003 and 132,500 in 2004.
	
		
			 Force Police officer strength as at31 March 2002 Civilian support staff strength as at 31 March 2002 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 3,096 1,611 
			 Bedfordshire 1,069 524 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,362 733 
			 Cheshire 2,059 884 
			 Cleveland 1,461 626 
			 Cumbria 1,100 631 
			 Derbyshire 1,848 953 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,053 1,639 
			 Dorset 1,381 741 
			 Durham 1,614 660 
			 Essex 2,946 459 
			 Gloucestershire 1,183 1,571 
			 Greater Manchester 7,217 545 
			 Hampshire 3,480 3,135 
			 Hertfordshire 1,825 570 
			 Humberside 2,058 1,597 
			 Kent 3,355 1,121 
			 Lancashire 3,304 816 
			 Leicestershire 2,100 1,958 
			 Lincolnshire 1,198 1,442 
			 London, City of 764 816 
			 Merseyside 4,125 600 
			 Metropolitan Police 26,223 247 
			 Norfolk 1,468 1,532 
			 Northamptonshire 1,214 10,459 
			 Northumbria 3,929 819 
			 North Yorkshire 1,417 645 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,330 743 
			 South Yorkshire 3,199 742 
			 Staffordshire 2,133 1,403 
			 Suffolk 1,203 1,087 
			 Surrey 1,992 1,435 
			 Sussex 2,893 1,352 
			 Thames Valley 3,762 1,030 
			 Warwickshire 969 692 
			 West Mercia 2,018 1,043 
			 West Midlands 7,681 1,507 
			 West Yorkshire 4,889 2,061 
			 Wiltshire 1,157 459 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1,132 1,116 
			 Gwent 1,333 3,007 
			 North Wales 1,506 2,364 
			 South Wales 3,222 649 
			 Total Secondments 2,336 887 
			
			 Total police officer strength 129,603 58,909 
		
	
	
		
			 Year as at 31 March Police officers Civilian support staff 
		
		
			 1996 126,901 52,933 
			 1997 127,158 53,011 
			 1998 126,814 52,975 
			 1999 126,096 52,465 
			 2000 124,170 52,588 
			 2001 125,682 53,575 
			 2002 12.9,603 58,022 
		
	
	Source
	Home Office Statistical Bulletins—Police Service Strength—1996–02

Police

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recommendations have been made by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary on the optimum number of probationers as a proportion of overall office numbers within a police force.

John Denham: None.

Police

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) officers, (b) constables and (c) police area constables were probationers in each police force in each year since 1998–99.

John Denham: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has provided the information in the table. Police area constable is not a recognised category. The proportion of probationers has been rising as a consequence of the very substantial increase in recruitment that began in 2000–01. As a result of that increased recruitment, by 31 March 2002, police service strength had reached the record number of 129,603, on track for the Government's targets of 130,000 by March 2003 and 132,500 in 2004.
	
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 
			  Probationers as a percentage of: 
			 Force All ranks Constables All ranks Constables 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 6.5 8.4 5.4 6.9 
			 Bedfordshire 7.4 9.4 6.4 8.2 
			 Cambridgeshire 2.0 2.6 3.7 4.8 
			 Cheshire 8.4 10.8 6.1 8.0 
			 City of London 4.8 6.1 1.8 2.3 
			 Cleveland 5.2 6.5 4.4 5.6 
			 Cumbria 2.0 2.6 3.6 4.7 
			 Derbyshire 6.2 8.2 6.7 8.7 
			 Devon and Cornwall 7.9 10.2 4.8 6.1 
			 Dorset 7.3 9.5 6.5 8.5 
			 Durham 11.9 15.2 8.5 10.8 
			 Dyfed-Powys 6.7 9.0 6.2 8.4 
			 Essex 6.4 8.4 5.2 6.7 
			 Gloucestershire 7.7 9.8 11.4 14.7 
			 Greater Manchester 1.6 2.0 2.7 3.5 
			 Gwent 6.2 8.0 8.3 10.9 
			 Hampshire 8.2 10.5 6.5 8.4 
			 Hertfordshire 7.4 9.6 11.7 15.1 
			 Humberside 5.3 6.9 4.0 5.2 
			 Kent 7.4 9.5 8.3 10.5 
			 Lancashire 5.3 7.0 2.7 3.5 
			 Leicestershire 9.4 11.8 7.5 9:3 
			 Lincolnshire 3.7 4.9. 3.0 4.0 
			 Merseyside 7.7 9.8 4.2 5.4 
			 Metropolitan Police 10.0 12.9 7.7 10.0 
			 Norfolk 5.1 6.6 3.5 4.5 
			 Northamptonshire 4.9 6.2 4.2 5.4 
			 Northumbria 11.5 14.6 7.7 9.8 
			 North Wales 7.1 9.3 7.2 9.5 
			 North Yorkshire 5.8 7.6 1.9 2.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 0.0 0.0 4.3 5.4 
			 South Wales 9.1 11.7 8.9 11.6 
			 South Yorkshire 6.8 8.8 7.1 9.3 
			 Staffordshire 10.1 13.2 3.0 3.9 
			 Suffolk 10.4 13.2 1.3 1.7 
			 Surrey 11.4 14.8 16.2 20.7 
			 Sussex 7.9 10.4 5.6 7.4 
			 Thames Valley 10.4 13.4 8.6 11.0 
			 Warwickshire 9.1 11.6 6.8 8.6 
			 West Mercia 4.2 5.4 1.4 1.8 
			 West Midlands 12.0 14.8 9.4 11.6 
			 West Yorkshire 3.8 4.8 1.2 1.6 
			 Wiltshire 0.0 0.0 1.3 1.8 
		
	
	
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 
			  Probationers as a percentage of: 
			 Force Alll ranks Constables All ranks Constables 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 4.5 5.7 5.2 6.6 
			 Bedfordshire 10.4 13.3 19.1 24.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 11.0 14.5 15.8 20.3 
			 Cheshire 5.8 7.6 11.7 15.1 
			 City of London 4.1 5.5 12.8 16.6 
			 Cleveland 8.6 10.9 13.0 6.5 
			 Cumbria 4.5 5.8 9.8 12.6 
			 Derbyshire 9.4 12.2 11.6 14.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 7.9 10.0 11.0 14.0 
			 Dorset 10.1 13.1 12.7 16.4 
			 Durham 7.5 9.5 10.0 12.7 
			 Dyfed-Powys 17.9 23.7 12.6 16.4 
			 Essex 8.4 10.8 13.3 17.0 
			 Gloucestershire 12.0 15.3 12.0 15.3 
			 Greater Manchester 3.2 4.1 13.0 16.3 
			 Gwent 9.3 12.0 16.4 21.0 
			 Hampshire 8.4 11.0 11.2 14.5 
			 Hertfordshire 11.9 15.5 14.8 18.9 
			 Humberside 7.3 9.3 15.4 19,5 
			 Kent 3.6 4.5 14.4 18.2 
			 Lancashire 7.9 10.3 11.1 14.4 
			 Leicestershire 9.2 11.4 11.8 14.7 
			 Lincolnshire 11.6 15.0 15.6 20.4 
			 Merseyside 5.0 6.4 8.7 10.9 
			 Metropolitan Police 7.9 10.3 9.1 11.8 
			 Norfolk 8.1 10.4 12.0 15.3 
			 Northamptonshire 7.9 9.9 13.2 16.7 
			 Northumbria 7.9 10.0 10.9 13.8 
			 North Wales 11.7 15.4 14.0 18.3 
			 North Yorkshire 5.6 7.2 2.1 2.8 
			 Nottinghamshire 7.5 9.6 0.9 1.2 
			 South Wales 3.0 3.8 13.3 16.9 
			 South Yorkshire 5.2 6.8 10.3 13.5 
			 Staffordshire 3.8 4.9 7.1 9.3 
			 Suffolk 6.4 8.2 13.6 17.1 
			 Surrey 19.3 24.7 21.2 26.9 
			 Sussex 9.6 12.6 13.5 17.7 
			 Thames Valley 10.7 13.8 15.1 19.4 
			 Warwickshire 9.2 11.6 14.9 18.7 
			 West Mercia 4.0 5.2 10.4 13.6 
			 West Midlands 10.3 12.8 9.5 11.7 
			 West Yorkshire 5.4 6.9 11.0 13.9 
			 Wiltshire 7.1 9.4 11.8 15.3

Police

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of employing, training and developing a probationary police constable in the last year for which figures are available.

John Denham: No central records are kept of the overall cost of employing, training and developing a police officer, which is the responsibility of the Chief Officer of each force.
	However, when payment rates were agreed for new recruits to be taken on through the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) provision was made for pay-related costs, recruitment and for the residential element of foundation training. The current CFF payment rates are set out in the table. This does not account for the full cost of training and developing a probationary constable.
	
		CFF Payment rates 2002–03
		
			  Pay-related costs Training Recruitment 
			  Payment per officer at £ per annum Payment per officer at £ 
		
		
			 Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Thames Valley Police 28,298 (12)7,000 1,056 
			 Bedfordshire, Hants, Sussex Police 27,208 (12)7,000 1,056 
			 Metropolitan Police Service 32,542 (12)7,000 1,056 
			 City of London Police 32,542 (12)7,000 1,056 
			 All other forces 26,118 (12)7,000 1,056 
		
	
	(12) Paid to Centrex

Port Security

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what security measures are in place for (a) Sovereign harbour in Eastbourne and (b) Newhaven port.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	Newhaven Port services ships engaged on international passenger and ro-ro freight routes. Therefore, mandatory counter terrorist security measures in accordance with the requirements of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act (AMSA) 1990, are in place at Newhaven Port.
	The level of security at locations such as Sovereign harbour, Eastbourne is decided by the Harbour Authorities or Harbour Operators as appropriate and will be commensurate with their commercial imperatives.
	In addition to AMSA the three border agencies, police Special Branch, HM Customs and Excise and the Immigration Service control the movement of passengers and goods through small ports. Their presence at the ports is determined by a risk assessment.

Probation Service

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons by grade and function were employed at the National Probation Directorate on 31 December 2002; and how many of these were consultants.

Hilary Benn: The information requested is as follows:
	
		National probation directorate staff breakdown—Current staffing levels
		
			 Grade National directors office Communications Corporate support Finance Estates Procurement Policy 
		
		
			  
			 SCS 1 — 1 1 — — 1 
			 GRADE 6 — — 1(C) 1 3 — 2 
			 GRADE 7 — 1 1 8(1C) 13(9T) — 3 
			 SEO 2 — 1 5 8(7T) — — 
			 HEO — 1(T) 2 2 2(1T) — 8 
			 EO 1 2 1 4 8(5T) — 6(1T) 
			 AO — — — 3 2(1T) — 5(1T) 
			 AA 1 — — — 2(1T) — — 
			 SPS — — — — 2(1T) — — 
			 PS — — — — — — 3(2T) 
			 SRO — — — — — — — 
			 RO — — — — — — — 
			 ACO — — — — — — 5(4S) 
			 SPO — — — — — — — 
			 PO — — — — — — — 
			 DCI — — — — — — 1(1S) 
			 DI — — — — — — — 
			 Consultants — — — 4 — 1 — 
			 Secondees — — — — — — — 
			 Total 5 4 7 28 40 1 34 
			 Total number consultants 0 0 1 5 0 1 0 
			 Directorate total 333 — — — — — — 
			 Consultant total 32 — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Grade Performance and planning What works Human resources Diversity Public protection unit ITG Total 
		
		
			 SCS 1 1 1 — 2 1 10 
			 GRADE 6 10 4 2 1 1 3 28(1C) 
			 GRADE 7 12 20(20S) 7 — 1 9(2T) 75(1C, 20S, 11T) 
			 SEO — 3(1S) 3 — — 7(2S) 29 (3S, 7T) 
			 HEO 1 2 3(2T) 2(1T) 3 7(2T) 33 (7T) 
			 EO 4 4 3 2(1T) 3 15(9T) 53 (16T) 
			 AO — 5(3T) 2(1T) 1(T) 2 5(1T) 25(8T) 
			 AA — — — — 1 — 4(1T) 
			 SPS — 1(T) 1(T) — — — 4(3T) 
			 PS 1 6(4T, 1S) 2(2T) 1(T) 1(T) 3(1T) 17(1S, 11T) 
			 SRO — 2 — — — — 2 
			 RO — — — — — — 0 
			 ACO — — — — 3 5(1T) 13(4S, 1T) 
			 SPO — 1(S) — — 1(S) 3 5(2S) 
			 PO — — — — 1 — 1 
			 DCI — — — — 1(S) — 2(2S) 
			 DI — — — — — — 0 
			 Consultants — — 3 — 1 21 30 
			 Secondees — — — — — 2 2 
			 Total 29 49 27 7 21 81 333(32C, 32S, 65T) 
			 Total number consultants 0 0 3 0 1 21 32 
			 Directorate total — — — — — — — 
			 Consultant total — — — — — — — 
		
	
	Notes:
	C = Consultant
	S = Secondee
	T = Temporary staff

Unaccompanied Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) unaccompanied children and (b) children unaccompanied by adults with parental responsibility arrived in the UK in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: I regret that the information requested is not available. Information is not recorded (or collated centrally) on whether children who arrive in the United Kingdom are accompanied or unaccompanied.
	The available information on applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children is given in the table. Reliable information on the entry routes of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), including when UASCs first enter the United Kingdom, is not available.
	
		Unaccompanied children(13),(14),(15) aged 17 or under, applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, 1998 to 2002
		
			  Total Applied at port Applied in country 
		
		
			 1998(16) 3,035 1,085 1,955 
			 1999(16) 3,350 1,500 1,850 
			 2000(16) 2,735 1,395 1,340 
			 2001(16),(17) 3,470 1,645 1,820 
			 2002(17),(18) 5,945 1,220 4,725 
		
	
	(13) Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	(14) Unaccompanied at point of arrival and not known to be joining a close relative in the United Kingdom.
	(15) Figures exclude age dispute cases reported by Asylum Cases Information Database (A-CID).
	(16) Figures exclude cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices (LEO) and postal applications.
	(17) Provisional figures.
	(18) Figures not comparable to manual count data previous to 2002, which excluded LEO and postal applications, which are now reported by A-CID.
	Information on asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children is published annually in the statistical bulletin, "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom", a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the RDS website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Work Permits

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits he has authorised since 1 September 2002.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 7 February 2003
	64,681 applications for work permits have been approved in the period 1 September 2002 to 1 March 2003.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

"The Future of Higher Education"

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether admission on merit to a higher education institution will discharge that institution's access obligations under the White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education".

Margaret Hodge: Universities are responsible for their own admissions policies. We believe students should be chosen on merit whatever their class and background and that those with the potential to succeed at university should be given the opportunity to do so.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact on education of proposals coming forward from the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Margaret Hodge: The European Union's role in education, vocational training and youth, as set out in Articles 149 and 150 of the current Treaty establishing the European Union, is limited to supporting and supplementing member state action. The draft text of Articles of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, currently being discussed within the Convention, states that education, vocational training and youth are areas for supporting action only.

Early Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of three year olds in Somerset have access to a free early education place; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the form requested. In January 2002, 2,390 free early years education places were taken up by three year olds in Somerset Local Education Authority area.
	We have made the commitment that by April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all three year olds whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.
	Latest figures on three year olds in early years education providers were published by the Department in the Statistical Bulletin "Provision for Children Under Five Years of Age in England—January 2002 (08/02)" in December 2002, a copy of which is available from the Library. An electronic copy of this publication is also available on the Department's web-site (www.dfes.gov.uk/ statistics).

Education Maintenance Allowance

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of the introduction of education maintenance allowance and post-16 education on neighbouring local authorities.

Margaret Hodge: Our assessment of the effects of introducing the education maintenance allowance compares participation by young people in post-16 education in pilot areas with participation by young people in control areas. We have not made an assessment of the effects of introducing EMA on neighbouring local authorities as we intend to introduce the scheme nationally from September 2004.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the retention rates are of pupils moving into post-16 education in (a) education maintenance allowance and (b) non-education maintenance allowance authorities.

Margaret Hodge: An independent evaluation of EMAs has been taking place since 1999. Evidence from the second year of the pilots, which was published last year, shows that EMAs have had a positive effect, increasing the number of eligible young people in full time education in year 12 in the pilot areas by 5.9 percentage points, compared to the local authority areas without EMA that we have used as controls.

Foundation Degree Courses

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have enrolled on foundation degree courses in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Latest figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) show that there were 12,000 students enrolled on Foundation Degrees in 2002–03, compared with 4,200 in 2001–02. Figures published recently by UCAS, covering students applying for HE courses in 2003–04, show that the number of applications for Foundation Degree courses have more than doubled.
	We welcome the increase in numbers. We now need to build on this as we look to make Foundation Degrees the standard two year qualification at this level.

Free School Meals

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children will be entitled to free school meals under the Government's new child tax credits from April.

Stephen Twigg: From 6 April 2003, we estimate that 1.2 million children in England will be entitled to receive free school lunches. This estimate includes around 162,000 children who will be entitled to receive free school lunches because their parents claim the new child tax credits. This figure includes 75,000 new recipients who would not have previously benefited from this entitlement.

Free School Meals

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Northampton, South are entitled to free school meals; and what the average is in English constituencies.

Stephen Twigg: The latest information available is shown in the table:
	
		Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools(19): Eligibility for free school meals January 2002
		
			  Day pupils(20) 
			  Nursery and primary schools  Secondary schools 
			  Number on roll Number known to be eligible for free meals Percentage known to be eligible forfree meals Number on roll Number known to be eligible for free meals Percentage known to be eligible forfree meals 
		
		
			 Northampton, South 7,721 753 9.8 9,013 978 10.9 
			 England 4,405,639 754,511 17.1 3,260,931 486,353 14.9 
		
	
	(19) Includes middle schools as deemed
	(20) Excludes boarding pupils

Higher and Further Education

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students were in higher education in each year since 1980.

Margaret Hodge: The latest available information is given in the table.
	
		Higher Education(21) Students in Great Britain
		
			 Year Postgraduate Undergraduate Total(22) 
		
		
			  
			 1980–61 101,400 699,800 801,200 
			 1981–82 102,600 728,900 831,500 
			 1982–83 100,000 749,600 849,700 
			 1983–84 103,400 767,900 871,300 
			 1984–85 107,300 774,500 881,700 
			 1985–86 114,200 795,100 909,300 
			 1986–87 121,200 823,800 945,000 
			 1987–88 125,600 842,300 968,000 
			 1988–89 134,500 869,100 1,003,600 
			 1989–90 145,700 920,900 1,066,700 
			 1990–91 163,600 982,400 1,146,100 
			 1991–92 188,900 1,079,000 1,267,900 
			 1992–93 213,100 1,195,700 1,408,800 
			 1993–94 236,900 1,304,400 1,541,300 
			 1994–95 297,000 1,400,800 1,697,800 
			 1995–96 310,800 1,476,200 1,787,000 
			 1996–97 310,300 1,534,500 1,844,800 
			 1997–98 321,400 1,561,200 1,882,600 
			 1998–99 337,900 1,579,500 1,917,500 
			 1999–2000 351,300 1,586,100 1,937,500 
			 2000–01 363,600 1,620,800 1,984,400 
			 2001–02(23) 371,800 1,669,100 2,040,900 
		
	
	(21) Census count as at December 31 in years up to 1993–94, and as at December 1 subsequent years. Includes home and overseas HE students studying both full and part time courses at HE institutions, FE institutions and the Open University.
	(22) Numbers may not add as totals were calculated before rounding.
	(23) Provisional.
	Note:
	Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

Higher and Further Education

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have been enrolled in (a) higher and (b) further education in each academic year since 1997–98.

Margaret Hodge: The latest information is shown in the table.
	
		Students on higher and further education courses—England
		
			 Academic year Higher education(24) Further education(25) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,568,200 3,767,300 
			 1998–99 1,591,400 3,662,300 
			 1999–2000 1,610,000 3,608,100 
			 2000–01 1,651,600 3,671,400 
			 2001–02 (26)1,690,900 Not available(27) 
		
	
	(24) Census count as at 1 December. Covers all home and overseas students on postgraduate and undergraduate courses, including HE students in FE colleges and the Open University.
	(25) Based on a whole year count of students. Includes FE students in HE institutions.
	(26) HE figures are provisional.
	(27) The whole year count of students in FE sector colleges is collected retrospectively after the end of the academic year.

Maintenance Awards

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when Education Maintenance Awards will be introduced in (a) Blackpool and (b) Lancashire.

Margaret Hodge: The national Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme will be available from September 2004 across the whole of England.
	In areas such as Blackpool which are not part of the pilot scheme, the first tranche of eligible students will be those who reach the compulsory school leaving age in the 2003–04 academic year.
	East Lancashire is currently piloting a variant of EMA whereby young people are given help with transport costs. This will continue until the national scheme is introduced.

Ministerial Travel

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the overseas trips made by himself and other members of his ministerial team in 2002; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost was in each case.

Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

Sure Start

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sure Start schemes; if he will list by education authority those approved to date; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: A major evaluation of Sure Start began in January 2001. It will examine the impact of Sure Start on children, families and communities, both in the short, medium and long term by tracking a sample of 8,000 children and their families over time. Information on impact and effectiveness will become available over the next 12–18 months. 427 of the 524 planned Sure Start local programmes have been approved to date. In addition we are funding 50 Mini Sure Start local programmes in rural areas and areas with pockets of deprivation. Of these, 49 have been approved to date.
	A list of the programs has been placed in the Library.

Sure Start

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Sure Start schemes there are in (a) rural and (b) urban areas.

Maria Eagle: Of the 524 planned Sure Start local programmes there are 15 based in identifiably rural areas and 509 located in predominantly urban areas. Of these, 427 Sure Start local programmes have had their funding approved to date.
	In addition, we are funding a pilot project of 50 Mini Sure Start local programmes in rural areas and areas with pockets of deprivation. These programmes cover areas where the number of disadvantaged children living in a defined area is less than the 800 required for a full local programme and so would not be covered by the traditional Sure Start model. The Mini Sure Start local programmes are building on existing services like Neighbourhood Nurseries or other facilities delivering children's services and using Sure Start funding to deliver outreach and additional health work. Of the 50 Mini Sure Start pilots, 29 are in rural areas.

Sure Start

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Sure Start programmes have been established in Somerset; if he will list them; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Since 1997 three Sure Start local programmes have been established in Somerset. These are Bridgwater (Sedgemoor); West Somerset (West Somerset); and Taunton Deane (Taunton Deane).
	Two mini Sure Start programmes have also been established in Somerset in this time period, and are located in Glastonbury and Chard. These mini Sure Start programmes are building on Neighbourhood Nurseries and are using Sure Start funding to deliver outreach and additional health work.

Tuition Fees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what reasons underlie the recent increase in university tuition fees.

Margaret Hodge: As in previous years, the maximum student contribution towards tuition fees for full-time undergraduates in England and Wales, attending courses at publicly funded institutions of higher education, has increased by £25 in order to maintain its value in real terms.

University Museums (Funding)

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on funding for university museums.

Margaret Hodge: University museums in England receive funding through higher education institutions' block grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). In addition, the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) provides funding of over £9 million a year to selected university museums and galleries. University museums also receive funds from other sources, for example from donations and as a result of providing services.

Violence/Harassment

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what figures his Department collates on the incidence of (a) violence and (b) harassment perpetrated (i) by higher and further education staff on students and (ii) by students on higher and further education staff.

Margaret Hodge: Information is not collected by the Department on the incidence of violence and harassment by further and higher education staff on students, nor by students on staff.
	Major injuries and others resulting in more than three days' absence from work as a result of physical violence are reportable to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. Between 1996 and 2001 there were 117 major injuries and 561 over three-day injuries to all teaching staff as a result of physical violence reported to HSE. These figures include teachers in all schools, further and higher education and adult and other education institutions. Information is not available on whether the assaults were carried out by pupils/students, parents or others.

Work Experience

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, ref 96764, if he will list the independent evaluations of work experience placements which have taken place; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: There have been two independent national evaluation studies on the pre-16 work experience programme, both carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies: "Pre-16 Work Experience in England and Wales" (IES Research Report, 1996), and "Pre-16 Work Experience Practice in England: An Evaluation" (IES Research Report, May 2001). These evaluations both show that placements are generally satisfactory and well-received by schools, pupils and employers. The second evaluation indicated that overall quality had improved since the first, reflecting the impact of a number of initiatives taken to enhance it, but a very small minority of placements were not of good quality and there was scope for further improvement in aspects of practice in some schools. As I indicated in previous answers to the hon. Member, we are committed to enabling all pupils at Key Stage Four to have at least two weeks of high quality work experience, and have measures in hand to promote this.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Company Pensions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the shortfalls in company pension schemes as a result of compliance with FRS17.

Ian McCartney: There are a number of alternative ways of evaluating the assets and liabilities of pension schemes. The FRS17 accounting standard sets out how pension assets, liabilities and costs should be reflected in company accounts. It offsets the long term liabilities of schemes against the current value of assets. The standard is the responsibility of the Accounting Standards Board which is independent of Government. Although companies are currently required to present balance sheet and performance statement information under the FRS17 standard in the notes to their accounts, mandatory full implementation of FRS17 has been deferred until 2005. FRS17 does not in itself create pension liabilities but seeks to make them clear in company balance sheets. It is therefore not appropriate to calculate an estimate of the shortfall in company pension schemes as a result of compliance with FRS17.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the estimated take-up of the minimum income guarantee in 2002–03 is; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the numbers of people eligible for minimum income guarantee in 2002–03.

Ian McCartney: The latest available estimate of take-up of Minimum Income Guarantee relates to financial year 1999–2000 and is presented in the DWP report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-up in 1999–2000". A copy of the publication is available in the Library. The next edition of the report containing statistics for 2000–01 will be released on 27 March 2003.
	Information on the number of people eligible for Minimum Income Guarantee in 2002–03 is not available. The latest published number of recipients of Minimum Income Guarantee as at November 2002 is 1,768,000. This estimate is taken from a 5 per cent. sample of administrative data and may be subject to a small degree of sampling error.

Automated Credit Transfer

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) of 27 January 2003, Official Report, column 649W, in what order he will be sending out invitation letters to recipients of each category of benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: The mailing exercise for direct payment began in October 2002 with four weekly paid Child Benefit customers and people in receipt of a War Pension. Since then we have continued with these benefits and started to issue mailings to people getting Retirement Pension. From March 2003 we plan to start to write to weekly paid Child Benefit customers.
	Also from March 2003 we will start to contact customers in receipt of Jobcentre Plus benefits (Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Industrial Injuries Scheme Benefits, Severe Disablement Allowance, Bereavement Benefit and Widows Benefit). Jobseeker's Allowance customers will be dealt with as part of their usual contact with the Department and will not receive a mailing.
	In summer 2003 we plan to start writing to customers in receipt of Disability and Care benefits including Invalid Care Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.

Benefit Payment Methods

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of benefit claimants he expects to be unable to receive their benefits into a bank or building society account, including a Post Office card account; what types of people he expects to fall into this category; and when the new arrangements for these people are likely to be announced.

Malcolm Wicks: Around 85 per cent. of our customers currently have access to an account suitable for Direct Payment. For those customers who wish to open a new account information on all of the options available is given in mailings being sent to benefit and pension customers.
	There is now a wide range of easy to operate bank and building society accounts available. The availability of these accounts and the Post Office card account will mean that there should be only a small number of people who cannot open a suitable account. However, we have always recognised that there will be a small group of people who we cannot pay directly into an account and they will continue to be paid in the same way they are now until an alternate payment method is available. Work is in progress to develop a solution to make these payments. Once this work is complete we will announce details.

Commonwealth Pensions

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will uprate the pensions paid to UK pensioners living in all Commonwealth countries; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: State pension is uprated in some Commonwealth countries and certain other countries abroad where there is a legal requirement or a reciprocal social security agreement to do so.
	The Commonwealth countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements allowing state pension upratings to be paid are, Barbados, Cyprus, Jamaica, Malta and Mauritius. Pensions are not uprated in any other Commonwealth country.
	The uprating of state pensions abroad is the subject of a Court of Appeal hearing set for 24 and 25 March 2003. This is an appeal against the High Court's finding that the Government is not in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by not annually uprating the state pension in countries where there is no agreement to do so.

Departmental Helplines

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets are in place for each of the Department's telephone helplines; and what the most recent performance figures against these targets are.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the targets for each of the Pension Service call centres; and what the performance against those targets has been.

Ian McCartney: The information in the table shows the targets currently in place for each of the Department's telephone helplines and recent performance against them.
	
		
			 Centre Target April to December 2002 Notes 
		
		
			 DWP Corporate
			 Public Enquiry Office To answer 65 per cent. of all calls offered to the PEO. 41 per cent. Average performance calculated April-December 2002. No data for November 2002 
			 
			 Jobcentre Plus
			 Jobcentre Plus Chief Executive helpline 100 per cent. of calls received in 20 seconds 100 per cent. This is a single line service operated by one member of staff. The number of calls received and answered are recorded but the telephone system does not enable the monitoring of any callers receiving an engaged tone. 
			 
			 Employer Direct 1: 80 per cent. of calls answered within 20 seconds 85 per cent.  
			  2: Maximum of 5 per cent. of calls abandoned after 20 seconds 3 per cent.  
			 Jobseeker Direct 1: 95 per cent. calls answered 98.0 per cent. Current Jobseeker direct telephone technology is unable to monitor how quickly calls are answered 
			  2: 1 job submission per call 1.12  
			  3: 8 job entries per service point per week 9.1  
			 One— Milton Keynes 1: 65 per cent. of calls answered within 25 seconds with no more than 10 per cent. abandoned 68 per cent.  
			  2: 80 per cent. of call backs made within 48 hours. 66.66 per cent. Figure supplied is calculated average as unable to supply exact figures in time available. 
			 One—Taunton 1: 65 per cent. of calls answered within 25 seconds with no more than 10 per cent. abandoned 70.1 per cent.  
			  2: 80 per cent. of call backs made within 48 hours. Not available 
			 One— Cwmbran 1: 65 per cent. of calls answered within 25 seconds with no more than 10 per cent. abandoned 69.3 per cent.  
			  2: 80 per cent of callbacks made within 48 hours. 70.0 per cent  
			 Jobcentre Plus Pathfinders Answer 80 per cent. of calls within 30 seconds (see note) 90.5 per cent. This measure excludes calls that abandon within the 30 seconds time to answer target time. 
			 National Benefit Fraud Hotline 1: 99 per cent. calls answered 97.76  
			  2: 6 minute call duration 6.54  
			  3: 70 per cent referrals to fraud 78.45  
			 The Pension Service
			 The Pension Service Chief Executive helpline All calls answered within 30 seconds 100 per cent. This is a single line service operated by one member of staff. The number of calls received and answered are recorded but the telephone system does not enable the monitoring of any callers receiving an engaged tone. 
			 Pension Centres Not currently in place—see note: From April 2003 these will be1: To ensure that less than 1 per cent. of attempted calls receive an engaged tone or message and2: To ensure that 92 per cent. of calls to Pension Centres are answered N/A In 2002–03 the priority has been to maintain quality of service during transition of the service into 26 regional pension centres. 
			 International teleclaims 90 per cent. of calls answered 92.7 per cent  
			 Pension Direct 1: Answer 92 per cent. of calls offered to ACD 91.6 per cent.  
			  2: Average time to answer of 30 seconds 50 seconds  
			 Retirement Pension teleclaims 1: 90 per cent. of calls answered in 30 seconds 88.16 per cent.  
			  2: No more than 1 per cent of calls are blocked(28) 0.64 per cent.  
			 Retirement Pension Forecasting Team 90 per cent. of calls answered in 30 seconds 81 .25 per cent.  
			 Minimum Income Guarantee 1: 90 per cent. of calls answered in 30 seconds 99.97 per cent.  
			  2: 1 per cent. of calls are blocked(28) 0.34 per cent.  
			 Children Group
			 Child Benefit Centre 90 per cent. of callers answered (this current internal target excludes the number of times customers have to re-dial.) 94.5 per cent. 90 per cent. of calls answered within 20 seconds from transfer to Inland Revenue April 2003. 
			 Child Support Agency National Enquiry and Customer Help lines 1: 85 per cent. of calls to be answered first time 91 .8 per cent.  
			  2: No more than 20 per cent. of calls to be abandoned 12.1 per cent.  
			 
			 Disability and Carers Service
			 Benefit Enquiry Line 1: 90 per cent. of calls answered within 30 seconds 54.75 per cent.  
			  2: Ineffective calls no more than 15 per cent. 30.9 per cent. (BT announcement or engaged tone) 
			  3: Occupancy 80 per cent. 91 .9 per cent. This is a measure of time advisors wait to take call 
			  4: Utilisation 64–70 per cent. 68.9 per cent. This measures the overall proportion of worked time that advisors handle calls. 
			  5: Productivity 80 per cent. 84.6 per cent. This measures the impact of time required for breaks 
			 Centre DLA/AA Helpline Target: 90 per cent. of calls answered within 30 seconds 17 per cent.answered in30 seconds  
			 
			 Outsourced centres
			 The Pension Service
			 Winter Fuel Help Line 95 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 96.3 per cent.  
			 Pensions Information Line (PIL) 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 96 per cent.  
			 Pensions Charter Information Same figure as Pensions Information Line (PIL) See PIL above  
			 Inherited SERPS 1: 80 per cent. calls answered within 20 seconds 98.5 per cent.  
			  2: 95 per cent. calls answered in 40 seconds 99.42 per cent. 
			 Pensioners Guide 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 87.8 per cent.  
			 Winter Fuel Bulk Line 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 90 per cent.  
			 Minimum Income Guarantee (leaflet order line) 85 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 71 per cent.  
			 
			 Corporate and others
			 Welfare Reform Order-line 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 97 per cent.  
			 Sure Start Response Line Same as Welfare Reform Line   
			 Direct Payment -Customer conversion centre 95 per cent. calls answered in 15 seconds 97.53 per cent.  
			 Direct Payment -Information Line 95 per cent. calls answered in 15 seconds 98.7 per cent.  
			 Interactive Electronic Services 1: 95 per cent. of calls answered within 15 seconds 100 per cent. Service commenced 28 October 2002. All calls have been answered within 15 seconds 
			  2: 100 per cent. availability of call centre 100 per cent. This measures whether the call centre was open and that there were staff available to answer calls during contracted hours 
			 
			 Working Age
			 National Benefit Fraud Hotline 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 90.6 per cent.  
			 New Deal 85 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 90 per cent.  
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 85 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 89 per cent.  
			 New Deal for Disabled People 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 100 per cent.  
			 Publicity Register 90 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 95 per cent.  
			 Child Support Reform Information Service (CSA Contact Centre) 85 per cent. calls answered first time within 10 seconds 37. 9 per cent. This service is primarily to respond to bulk mailings to clients using dedicated agents. In this period the centre has only been required to handle low numbers of calls offered on an intermittent basis dealing mostly with third party. These are not handled by dedicated agents. 
		
	
	(28) Blocked calls are those where the caller is unable to get through to the service because of a limit placed on the number of calls that can be accepted. The caller receives a network message or engaged tone.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 3 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Akbar Ali.

Andrew Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 March 2003.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 3 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Donna Neokli.

Andrew Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 March 2003.

Pension Forecasts

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the accuracy of information on entitlement to SERPS, which is provided by his Department to individuals via pension forecasts.

Ian McCartney: The calculation of additional pension, which includes SERPS, state second pension, graduated pension and any contracted-out deductions is based upon information held on an individual's national insurance record and information provided by the customer on form BR19 when they request a state pension forecast.
	The calculation is based upon current pension legislation and has been thoroughly tested.

Pension Forecasts

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the accuracy of information provided to individuals regarding their future pension entitlement (a) within pensions forecasts provided on request and (b) within pension forecasts issued automatically.

Ian McCartney: The calculation of all pension forecasts is based upon current pension legislation and has been thoroughly tested.
	Pension forecasts on request are based upon an individual's national insurance record and also detailed information provided by the individual on form BR19 when they apply for a forecast.
	Forecasts issued "automatically" will be either a combined pension forecast (CPF) or a state pension forecast issued to a specific group. A CPF is the existing benefit statement issued by the employer/pension scheme provider coupled with a state pension forecast.
	From May 2003 the Government is issuing automatic state pension forecasts to the self-employed.
	Automatic forecasts are based upon a set of specified criteria relating to working status and National Insurance contributions. Planned retirement will be assumed to be at state pension age.
	Included in the literature accompanying an automatic forecast is an invitation to request a more detailed Individual Pension Forecast (IPF) should customers wish to provide the Department with more personal information about their likely circumstances and intentions leading up to retirement.

Pension Forecasts

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review the practice of recording nil on individual pensions forecasts, when exact levels of entitlement are not known; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: There are two elements to a pension forecast. They cover the position at the time the forecast is issued as well as a projection of the position at state retirement age. The first element provides exact information on state pension at "today's" rates based on an individual's current national insurance record at the time the forecast is provided. No assumptions are made in calculating this element of the forecast.
	The forecast of expected state pension at retirement age is based on the same record, which assumes that contributions will continue at the same level. Further information is supplied with the forecast to explain the calculation and the projection. In some instances the pension entitlement will be "nil" at the time the forecast is requested. For example, if someone asks for a state pension forecast but has less than 10 years national insurance contributions then they have not accrued enough national insurance contributions for a state pension at that time. However, taking account of current levels of contributions, and projecting that they continue at that level, may mean we can give a positive forecast at retirement age. Some women though may have elected to pay the reduced rate national insurance contribution, so they would not have an entitlement to a state pension in their own right and their forecast would remain as "nil".
	The purpose of providing the calculation at "today's" rates and at retirement age is to provide information to individuals to help inform their pension planning and enable them to make informed choices with regard to their retirement income levels.

Pensioner Households

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of how many pensioner households there are in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland.

Ian McCartney: There are 5,800,000 pensioner households in the United Kingdom and 515,000 pensioner households in Scotland.
	Notes
	1. Estimates are based on Census 2001 Key Statistics for local authorities in England and Wales and the General Register Office for Scotland rounded to the nearest 5,000 households.
	2. A household comprises one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address with common housekeeping, that is sharing either a living room or sitting room or at least one meal a day.
	3. A pensioner household is defined as either a single person over state pension age, a couple, where both partners are over state pension age, or a group of individuals who are all over state pension age.

Pensioners (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps he has taken to improve the financial position of pensioners in Portsmouth; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Over 5,300 people in Portsmouth benefit from the Minimum Income Guarantee—a policy we introduced—and receive an average £49.83 a week. 31,600 pensioners have benefited from the above inflation increases in the State Pension. Additionally 33,800 people received a Winter Fuel Payment of up to £200. Those Portsmouth pensioners eligible for Pension Credit stand to gain around 400 a year on average.
	The creation of The Pension Service provides an ideal opportunity to further encourage pensioners to take up their entitlements. Not only are our customers being encouraged to claim when they ring their pension centre but we also have a network of local service teams throughout the country actively encouraging take up.
	There is a local service team of 18 staff covering the area of Portsmouth, Havant and East Hants, meeting customers in the community and actively encouraging take-up. They are developing advice and drop-in surgeries in partnership with other local organisations. For example, in partnership with Portsmouth local authority, the team provide Pension Service advisors every Monday at the Somerstown and Landport Access Points, and in partnership with JobCentre Plus they attend Robuck House Cosham on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Pension Entitlement

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to make available information on pension entitlements to British Citizens working in other EU countries.

Ian McCartney: There are several information products available from either DWP or Inland Revenue (IR) to British Citizens who leave the UK to work in another European Union (EU) country. These products provide appropriate information that can be either general in nature or specifically tailored to the individual.
	There are two comprehensive information leaflets available. The leaflet SA29, "Your Social Security Insurance, Benefits and Health Care Rights in the European Economic Area', explains specifically about social security, including State Pensions, within the EU. Leaflet NI38, "Social Security Abroad" explains about social security for people living abroad. Both leaflets are available on the internet, from local DWP offices or from the Pension Service and IR offices in Newcastle, which deal specifically with people living abroad.
	The websites of DWP, the Pension Service and IR give comprehensive information about their services. This includes information about working in another EU country and the impact on State Pension entitlement. These sites have links to each other and there is a hyperlink from the DWP website to the European Commission website for people wanting further information about the European Community Regulations on Social Security. In addition, the DWP is playing a major role in a new EU-funded project aimed at linking national social security administration websites (the COWEBS project). This project is specifically targeted at the information needs of migrant workers. It will compliment the web services already available; both by providing user friendly access to each country's website and, in the medium term, by making general information available on each site in the main European languages, in addition to the national language.
	IR provide, on written request or via the internet, a comprehensive State Pension forecasting service for people who have lived or worked abroad, which tells people about their future State Pension entitlement including the effect of the EC Regulations on Social Security. IR issue approximately 9,000 State Pension forecasts a year to people who have worked or lived in the EU.
	A State Pension claim pack is sent to people about four months before they reach State Pension age inviting them to claim their State Pension, including those who are recorded as living or who have lived or worked in the EU.

Pension Entitlement

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to use the terms 'pension income' instead of 'annuity' and 'pension savings' for funds paid into a pension plan.

Ian McCartney: The terms 'annuity' and 'pension income' are not interchangeable. An annuity is a product that guarantees an income stream rather than being the income stream itself. Consequently, while an annuity can be a source of pension income, pension income need not be in the form of an annuity and it is important that this distinction is made clear. As far as the term 'pension savings' is concerned, the Government are generally in favour of terms like these, which are simple and understandable to individual savers and pension scheme members. The expression 'pension savings' is used in several places in the Green Paper, "Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and Saving for Retirement" (Cm 5677), which contains proposals to make information available to individuals in the clearest possible way, to help them make decisions about working longer and saving more for retirement.

Pension Entitlement

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has done to assess the likely impact of the end of the Inland Revenue qualifying regime on the ability of those on low incomes to save for their retirement.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 397W, and confirm that the Government will consider the impact of the Sandler proposals on those on low incomes.

State Pension

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer, net of savings in means-tested benefits and of non-introduction of the pension credit and of additional income tax revenue, of an increase of £5 per week in the basic state pension together with the introduction of age additions of £5 per week at age 75–79 and £10 per week at age 80 years and over, on the basis that the age additions for those aged 75 to 79 and 80 years and over are paid in full, regardless of contribution record.

Ian McCartney: Our priority is to target help on those current pensioners who have the lowest incomes. While it is true that older pensioners tend to be poorer on average, income inequality is far more pronounced across the whole pensioner population than between pensioners of different ages. For example, the median net income of the richest fifth of pensioner couples is around four times that of the poorest fifth.
	Age additions are not the most effective way to target those pensioners with the lowest incomes. For example, just under half of all minimum income guarantee claimants are aged under 75.
	From October 2003, the poorest third of pensioner households will have gained over £1,500 a year in real terms as a result of the reforms introduced by this Government.
	If the maximum rate payable of the basic state pension was increased by £5 per week and weekly age additions of £5 were introduced for people aged 75–79 and £10 for people aged 80 and over in 2003–04, we estimate that the increase in public expenditure could be in the region of £0.5bn. This assumes that pension credit is not introduced and spending is re-directed into the basic state pension. It is also calculated on the generous assumption that consequent savings in other benefits and any additional tax yield are channelled back into the basic state pension.
	In this scenario, many of the poorest pensioners are no better off than they would have been under pension credit because their increased basic state pension is completely offset by the reduction in their minimum income guarantee. Instead, expenditure is targeted on those further up the income distribution. In addition many pensioners with modest private pension provision would be worse off under this scenario than under pension redit.
	For example, a person aged 75 is receiving a full basic state pension and has a small private pension worth £10 per week. Under these proposals, they would receive a basic state pension of £87.45, plus their private pension of £10 per week and would be topped up to £102.10 by the minimum income guarantee.
	Under pension credit they would receive £77.45 from the basic state pension and would still be topped up to the guarantee of £102.10. However in addition they would also receive a savings credit of £6 per week, giving a total weekly income of £108.10. This person is over £300 per year better off under pension credit than under the suggested proposals.
	Notes
	1. Estimates are in cash terms for Great Britain and are rounded to the nearest £0.5bn.
	2. The estimate takes account of offsetting savings in income related benefits and additional tax yield. Income related benefit offsets are calculated using the Department for Work and Pensions Policy Simulation Model for 2003/04. Additional tax yield is calculated by the Inland Revenue based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes2000/01, projected to 2003/04.
	3. Calculations assume the maximum rate payable of the Basic State Pension is increased by £5 per week and all other payments proportionately and that age additions of 5 per week are paid to all those aged 75–79 and £10 per week to those aged 80 and over.
	4. For modelling purposes, the pension credit is assumed to be in place throughout2003/04. In fact, the pension credit will begin in October 2003.
	5. Projections of distributional consequences for 2003/04 are subject to a variety of assumptions and should be treated with caution.
	Source:Department for Work and Pensions calculations.

Top-up Fees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 13 February 2003, Official Report, column 969W, on top-up fees, whether his Department will be undertaking studies to assess the impact of the proposed introduction of university top-up fees on the pension contributions of those under 40 years of age.

Ian McCartney: The Department's regular annual review of future research requirements is currently under way, and when it is complete, the Research Programme will be published. At this stage, we are unable to provide details of plans for specific studies. However, following publication on 17 December 2002 of the Green Paper, "Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and Saving for Retirement" (Cm 5677), identifying and remedying gaps in our information on pension accumulation and savings behaviour is a priority for the Department.

Winter Fuel Payment

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people who have to make a claim for the 2002–03 winter fuel payment before the 30 March cut-off date; and of that number how many have yet to do so.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 17 December 2002, Official Report, column 607W.
	However, further to that answer, I would like to clarify the figures provided. They included written requests for claim forms. As at 28 February 2003, some 205,000 actual claim forms had been received.
	It is up to an individual to decide whether or not to make a claim.

HEALTH

Alzheimer's Disease

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will list general practitioners who have piloted the CANTAB-PAL test technology for detecting early onset of Alzheimer's disease;
	(2)  if he will publish the findings of the Technologies Advisory Group study into the CANTAB-PAL test technology for detecting early onset of Alzheimer's in November 2001;
	(3)  on what basis the Technologies Advisory Group in his Department declined to recommend the CANTAB-PAL test technology for detecting early onset of Alzheimer's disease for assessment by NICE;
	(4)  how many people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in each PCT area;
	(5)  what tests are available through the NHS to detect early onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Jacqui Smith: Information is not available about the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in each primary care trust area. Research shows that about 5 per cent. of the population over 65 has dementia, and Alzheimer's disease causes about 60 per cent. of cases of dementia.
	A number of different tests are available to detect the early onset of Alzheimer's disease. Consideration is being given to the possibility of guidance on methods for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, including the CANTAB-PAL test, in the context of a possible National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline on management of dementia generally. Decisions on topics to be referred to NICE are taken by Ministers on the basis of advice from the Advisory Committee for Topic Selection (previously the Technologies Advisory Group). Final decisions will be announced shortly.

Ambulance Call-outs

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of ambulance call outs to people over the age of (a) 50 and (b) 65 in each of the last five years for which figures are available have been as a result of a fall.

David Lammy: The information requested is not available centrally.

Area Child Protection Committees

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 586W, on ACPCs, which area child protection committees are complying with his guidance.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust on (a) improving the level of cleanliness, (b) ensuring syringes, needles and other equipment are kept in a hygienic state, (c) the safe storage of needles and syringes in paediatric areas, (d) the need to keep refrigerators used to store drugs locked, (e) the proper storage of equipment and (f) the quality of food provided for patients at Oldchurch Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Oldchurch hospital was inspected by a patient environment action team (PEAT) on 21 February 2002. Overall standards of both the environment and food were assessed as acceptable and the hospital has been awarded Amber status. A further inspection will be undertaken as part of the current PEAT assessment programme.
	Additionally, all hospitals are required to meet the national cleaning standards for the National Health Service, issued in 2001. These standards are currently being revised to include equipment frequently cleaned by nursing staff such as diagnostic equipment, trolleys and drip stands.
	It is the responsibility of individual trusts to ensure the safety of items such as needles, syringes and drugs and that they are stored in a safe and hygienic environment and in line with the Controls Assurance standards and related regulations. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 lays a duty on employers to ensure the health and safety of their staff. Under this statute NHS employers are required to carry out a risk assessment in relation to the safe storage, use and disposal of all sharps and needles. Responsibility for ensuring compliance with the legislation lies with the Health and Safety Executive.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 26W, on care homes, whether the statutory instrument will be (a) negative and (b) affirmative.

Jacqui Smith: The relevant procedure for the necessary statutory instrument will be the negative procedure.

Care Homes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had recently with the health authorities in the London Borough of Havering regarding residential care home provision.

Jacqui Smith: I have had no recent discussions with the health authorities in the London Borough of Havering. The council is the lead agency for commissioning residential care provision. The council will work in partnership with local primary care trusts in determining the local need for this type of care.

Consultant Rheumatologists

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the number of consultant rheumatologists; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 7 March 2003
	Between 1997 and 2002, the number of consultants in rheumatology has increased by 90, or 26.5 per cent., from 340 in September 1997 to 430 in March 2002.
	We are also increasing specialist registrars (SpR) numbers. For 2003–04, trusts will have scope to create up to 40 locally funded SpR training opportunities in the specialty.
	Current workforce projections indicate that by September 2004, there will be around 80 additional trained specialists in rheumatology over September 2000 levels.

Correspondence

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter to him from Mr. Ken Mack of Wrexham dated 14 September 2002.

Jacqui Smith: A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 6 March.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the details of the preliminary application process for foundation trusts, as sent to potential applicants for foundation status.

John Hutton: Details of the preliminary application process sent to potential applicants for national health service foundation trust status have been placed in the Library.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations, not currently part of the NHS, will be eligible to apply for NHS foundation trust status.

John Hutton: Forthcoming legislation will set out the process for the Independent Regulator for national health service foundation trusts to consider applications for NHS foundation trust status.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways foundation trusts will be freed from detailed performance management, as stated in paragraph 1.12 of 'A Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts'; and if this refers also to three star trusts without foundation status.

John Hutton: The proposed arrangements for national health service foundation trusts are explained in paragraph 4.1 of 'A Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts'.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he intends to ensure that foundation trust board of governors will represent the full range of members' interests.

John Hutton: Our policy on the election of the Board of Governors is explained in paragraph 2.25 of 'A Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts'. Details will be included in forthcoming legislation.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he intends to ensure that foundation trusts use their freedoms to give staff unlimited pay bonuses in a way which does not undermine other providers in the local health economy.

John Hutton: The exercise of any of the proposed freedoms which national health service foundation trusts will enjoy will be a matter for the trust to decide, subject to the role of the Independent Regulator. Details will be set out in forthcoming legislation.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers a board of governors will have in relation to the management of foundation hospitals.

John Hutton: Our policy on the powers and duties of the board of governors of a national health service foundation trust is explained in paragraphs 2.32 and 2.33 of 'A Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts'. Details will be included in forthcoming legislation.

Foundation Hospitals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the requirements to be included in the licences of foundation hospitals.

John Hutton: Our policy is explained in paragraph 3.4 of 'A Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts'. Details will be included in forthcoming legislation.

Foundation Hospitals

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which trade unions he has met to discuss his proposals for foundation trusts; when the meetings were; and which unions have expressed support for his proposals.

John Hutton: I discuss a range of issues at the regular meetings that I have with trade unions.

GPs

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners are expected to retire in the next 12 months in (a) the Southend PCT area, (b) the Rochford and Castle Point PCT area and (c) the Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT area; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The local primary care trusts are aware of this problem and are taking steps to improve the situation.
	The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Unrestricted Principles and Equivalents (UPEs)(29) by Age Band for Castlepoint and Rochford, Maldon and South Chelmsford and Southend on Sea Primary Care Trusts: As at 31 March 2002 -- Number (headcount)
		
			 Primary Care Trust PCT code Total UPEs Of which: Under 30 30–34 35–39 40–45 45–49 
		
		
			 England total  27,956 285 2,441 4,698 5,774 5,140 
			 Of which:
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 75 0 1 8 14 14 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL 40 0 2 3 11 8 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK 83 0 2 7 11 16 
		
	
	
		Numbers (headcount)
		
			  Of which: Of which: 
			 Primary Care Trust PCT code 50–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70+ aged 69 
		
		
			 England total  4,525 3,281 1,358 454 0 56 
			 Of which:
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 17 13 3 5 0 1 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL 9 3 4 0 0 0 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK 21 15 8 3 0 0 
		
	
	(29) Unrestricted principles and equivalents include GMS unrestricted principles, PMS contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPS.
	Source:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics
	
		Unrestricted Principles and Equivalents (UPEs)(30) Leavers by Age Band for Castlepoint and Rochford, Maldon and South Chelmsford and Southend on Sea Primary Care Trusts: October 1999/September 2000 to September 2001/March 2002 -- Number (headcount)
		
			 Primary Care Trust PCT code Total UPEs Of which: Under 30 30–34 35–39 40–45 45–49 
		
		
			 30 September 2001–31 March 2002
			 England total  687 4 71 101 81 46 
			 Of which:
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL 2 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 
			 30 September 2000–30 September 2001(31)
			 England total  1,313 11 124 178 137 93 
			 Of which:
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 3 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL — — — — — — 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK — — — — — — 
			 31 October 1999–30 September 2000(31)
			 England total  1,090 14 92 149 89 73 
			 Of which:
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 8 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL — — — — — — 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		Number (headcount)
		
			 Primary Care Trust PCT code 50–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70+ 
		
		
			 30 September 2001–31 March 2002   
			 England total  88 138 95 63 0 
			 Of which:   
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK 0 0 0 0 0 
			
			 30 September 2000–30 September 2001(31)   
			 England total  125 270 239 136 0 
			 Of which:   
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 0 1 1 1 0 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL — — — — — 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK — — — — — 
			
			 31 October 1999–30 September 2000(31)   
			 England total  132 210 196 135 0 
			 Of which:   
			 Castlepoint and Rochford PCT 5JP 2 2 2 1 0 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 5GL — — — — — 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 5AK — — — — — 
		
	
	(30) Unrestricted Principles and Equivalents include GMS Unrestricted Principles. PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.
	(31) Data for Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT and Southend on Sea PCT is not available for these years.
	Notes:
	1. Leavers are calculated by comparing successive censuses.
	2. September 2001-March 2002 leavers only refers to a six month comparison and are not directly comparable with 1999–2000 and 2000–01 which are based on a 12 month comparison.
	Source:
	Department of Health General Personal Medical Services Statistics

GPs

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Spanish GPs have (a) signed contracts agreeing to work and (b) commenced work in the Southend PCT area; and if he will make a statement on recent progress in recruitment of Spanish GPs.

John Hutton: 10 Spanish general practitioners have been appointed into the Southend Primary Care Trust area. Eight contracts have already been signed and a further two are in the process of being signed.
	Five GPs will commence at the end of April with the further five starting three months later.

Health Services (Children)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has provided guidance to PCTs on improving (a) the treatment of enuresis and (b) paediatric continence services.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has provided grant aid to the enuresis resource and information centre, which produces guidance on paediatric continence services. Common childhood conditions, including enuresis and paediatric continence, will be considered under the forthcoming national service framework (NSF) for children, young people and maternity services.
	Good Practice in Continence Services was issued by the Department in April 2000 and provides guidance to primary care trusts (PCTs) on continence services. This includes that PCTs should have specialist continence services in place, which provide patients with an individual assessment of their needs. This assessment should include the provision of continence products to any patient who needs them.
	Continence also features in the NSF for older people standard two- person centred care. The milestone for achievement of integrated continence service provision is 2004, by which time it is expected that "all local health and social care systems should have established an integrated continence service".

Health Services (Children)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-UK passport holding children are being looked after by Social Services.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Health Services (Children)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has discussed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer the mental health needs of children at risk.

Jacqui Smith: No specific discussions have taken place. However, the Department has made a significant investment in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) over the last three years, £105 million to 31 March 2003, and is committed to achieving radical improvements in the quality and quantity of CAMHS. Our current public service agreement target provides for an expansion of the service by at least 10 per cent, per year for the next three years, leading to a comprehensive service, able to respond to all children with mental health needs in all areas, by 2006. This development is underpinned by over £250 million of additional funding, including £140 million for local authorities. The children's national service framework will set out the standards and milestones for improvements in CAMHS services for all children, including those at risk.

Laser Eye Surgery

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further plans he has for regulating laser eye surgery.

David Lammy: From 1 April 2002, independent health care establishments that provide treatment with Class 3B lasers, except where these are used by or under the supervision of health professionals, and all independent health care establishments that provide treatment with Class 4 lasers have been regulated under the Care Standards Act 2000 by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC).
	Independent providers of all Class 4 laser treatment are required to comply with regulations made under the Act. There are also two sets of national minimum standards: core standards, which apply to all independent health care providers, and service-specific standards for each type of service provided, including laser treatment. In deciding whether an establishment has complied with regulations, the NCSC must take into account whether it meets the national minimum standards.

Midwifery

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students are undertaking training to become a midwife (a) by direct training and (b) post-registration at (i) diploma and (ii) degree level; what proportion of students (A) completed and (B) did not complete their studies in the last three years; which institutions offer midwifery courses; and what the sources are of the information used to answer this question.

John Hutton: The number of students in training to become a midwife is shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1: Number of students on pre and post-registration midwifery courses 2001–02 whole-time equivalents -- Whole-time equivalents
		
			  Student population 
		
		
			 Midwifery Total 3,324 
			   
			 Pre-registration courses 2,274 
			 Diploma 1,288 
			 Degree 986 
			   
			 Post-registration courses 1,050 
			 Diploma 1,050 
		
	
	Source
	Department of Health non-medical education and training business planning 2002–03
	Attrition data for midwifery students are shown in table 2 for each of the last three complete years available. The years refer to the cohort for that year and figures include all types of course.
	
		Table 2: Midwives training progress -- Percentage
		
			  Eligible to register(32) Discontinued(33) Interrupted(34) Active(35) 
		
		
			 1995–96 76.9 17.9 0.5 4.7 
			 1996–97 73.0 21.8 1.5 3.7 
			 1997–98 76.3 17.1 0.9 5.7 
		
	
	(32) Those midwives who have completed their training and are eligible to register with the English National Board and therefore join the NHS.
	(33) Students who have left the course.
	(34) Students whose course has been interrupted (for individual reasons) and may continue at a later date
	(35) Students who are still in training.
	Source
	English National Board for Nursing
	The following institutions offer midwifery courses.
	Anglia Polytechnic University
	Bournemouth University
	The University of Bradford
	University of the West of England, Bristol
	Canterbury Christ Church University College
	University of Central England in Birmingham
	University of Central Lancashire
	Chester (A College of The University of Liverpool)
	City University
	Coventry University
	De Montfort University
	University of East Anglia
	Edge Hill College of Higher Education (A higher education institution accredited by Lancaster
	University)
	University of Greenwich
	The University of Huddersfield
	The University of Hull
	Keele University
	University of Leeds
	Liverpool John Moores University
	University of Luton
	Middlesex University
	University College Northampton
	University of Northumbria at Newcastle
	Oxford Brookes University
	University of Plymouth
	The University of Salford
	St Martin's College, Lancaster: Ambleside: Carlisle (an Accredited College of the University of Lancaster)
	University of Southampton
	Staffordshire University
	The University of Stirling
	Suffolk College An Accredited College of The University of East Anglia
	University of Surrey
	University of Wales Swansea
	University of Teesside
	Thames Valley University
	University of Wolverhampton
	University College Worcester
	Source:
	University and College Admissions Service (UCAS)

NHS Staff

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) professions ancillary to medicine, (d) nursing auxiliaries and (e) hospital porters, cleaners and cooks were employed in the NHS (i) in each health authority area in the North East in 1996 and (ii) in each PCT area in the North East at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 March 2003
	The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Northwick Park Hospital

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) physiotherapists worked at Northwick Park Hospital in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The information requested is collected by National Health Service trust and not by individual hospital. Northwick Park Hospital was part of Northwick Park and St Marks NHS Trust until 1999, when the trust merged with Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust to form North WestLondon Hospitals NHS Trust.
	Figures for Northwick Park & St. Marks NHS Trust for 1997 to 1998 and North West London Hospitals NHS Trust for 1999 to 2001 are shown in the tables.
	
		Hospital and Community Health Services Medical and Dental Staff -- As at 30 September each year Numbers
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 North West London Hospitals NHS trust - - 530 540 560 
			 Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 190 190 - - - 
			 Northwick Park and St. Marks NHS Trust Trust 290 310 - - - 
		
	
	Source:Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
	
		HNS hospital and community health services (HCHS) qualified nursing midwifery and health visiting staff and physiotherapists within the specified organisations -- As at 30 September each year Headcount
		
			   1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 All staff Qualified nursing, midwidery and health visiting staff 1,356 1,371 1,345 1,426 1,643 
			  Physiotherapists 80 75 74 84 86 
			  
			 North West London Hospital NHS Trust Qualified nursing, midwidery and health visiting staff - - 1,345 1,426 1,643 
			  Physiotherapists - - 74 84 86 
			  
			 Central Middlesex Hospital Trust Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 459 462 - - - 
			  Physiotherapists 26 25 - - - 
			  
			 Northwick park and St. Marks NHS Trust Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 897 909 - - - 
			  Physiotherapists 54 50 - - - 
		
	
	Notes:Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts- Not applicableCentral Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust merged with Northwick Park St. Marks NHS Trust in 1999 form North West London Hospitals NHS TrustSource:Department of Health non-medical workforce census

Prisoner Treatment (Chorley and Preston)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Home Office regarding the provision of extra resources to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust in order to treat prisoners at Chorley and Preston hospitals.

Jacqui Smith: Responsibility for meeting the costs of prisoners' medical treatment in hospital lies entirely with the National Health Service. Allocations made to primary care trusts include provision for the costs of such services.

Protection of Children Act Database

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often the PoCA database is updated and maintained; and what checks are in place to ensure information is accurate.

Jacqui Smith: The Protection of Children Act list database is updated on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. The information on the database is supplied by referring organisations and, where possible, checked with the individuals concerned.

University College Hospital

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from (a) local institutions and (b) members of the public concerning the conversion of University College Hospital into a Foundation Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: No representations have been received from local institutions or members of the public concerning University College Hospital National Health Service Trust becoming a NHS foundation trust.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Fire Services

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will initiate a national attendance standard relating to speed response and weight attack for each Fire Brigade;
	(2)  when the Standards of Fire Cover were last reviewed.

Nick Raynsford: The current national standards of fire cover provide that the country should be divided into four main categories of fire risk, according to the nature of the premises, and that, in response to fires in a particular risk category area, a predetermined number of firefighting appliances will attend within a specified time. The national standards are under review. In the light of the recommendation of the Independent Review of the Fire Service, chaired by Professor Sir George Bain, that the Government should issue guidance to implement a new risk-based approach to fire cover, we are drawing up, for consultation, draft guidance on a new approach. This guidance would provide a national framework, against which fire authorities would prepare local integrated risk management plans, responding to locally identified needs.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether prior to the publication of the Bain report, drafts of the report were shown to (a) the Government, (b) the Fire Services National Employers and (c) other organisations.

Nick Raynsford: The work of the Review was carried out independently and objectively. Draft passages were shown to some people and organisations, including government officials who had provided evidence to the review to confirm points of factual accuracy. However no-one, apart from members of the review, its secretariat and the publishers saw the full text before the report was published on 16 December 2002.

Fire Services

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2003, Official Report, column 865W, on the firefighters' dispute, 
	(1)  what the total cost was to firefighter employers in (a) lost working days and (b) lost man hours of industrial action taken by firefighters in each of the last 14 months;
	(2)  how many firefighters went on strike on (a) each of the 10 days of industrial action in November 2002 and (b) the day of industrial action in January 2003;
	(3)  how many (a) man hours and (b) working days were lost to industrial action by firefighters in each of the last 14 months.

Nick Raynsford: There are two shifts in a 24-hour period. 20 shifts were severely affected by strike action by members of the Fire Brigades Union in November 2002, six in January 2003 and four in February 2003.
	Information on the exact number of man hours lost or firefighters on strike is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he has consulted the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council on the proposal to remove his functions under section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947.

Nick Raynsford: No. The Bain Review, which recommended repeal or amendment of section 19, invited evidence from all major stakeholders in the fire service, including those which are members of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account he has taken of the Central Fire Brigades Council's Task Group report, The Fire Cover Review, drawing up the proposal to remove his functions under section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947.

Nick Raynsford: The work of the Task Group was taken into account by the Independent Review of the Fire Service, which recommended the urgent introduction of a risk-based approach to fire cover and the repeal of most of the provisions of section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what procedure the Government will use if the Secretary of State's powers under section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947 are removed, to ensure that fire service emergency cover is maintained to a level deemed satisfactory by HM Fire Service Inspectorate.

Nick Raynsford: The repeal of section 19 will not alter the statutory responsibility that rests locally with fire authorities to provide fire services. Fire authorities will have guidance on the proposed new approach to fire cover. In addition, they have a general duty, under the Best Value provisions of the Local Government Act 1999, to secure continuous improvement in the way their functions are exercised, having regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness; and they must consult, amongst others, representatives of persons who use are likely to use their services. The Best Value framework, which is backed up by an inspection regime, gives my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister intervention powers if an authority is failing to comply with its obligations.

High Hedges Bill

Christopher Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will produce (a) a regulatory impact assessment and (b) an assessment of the burden on local government in respect of the proposals in the High Hedges Bill (Lords).

Tony McNulty: When the High Hedges (No. 2) Bill is printed, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will publish a full regulatory impact assessment. This includes an assessment of the burden on local government in respect of the proposals in the Bill. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and will be available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.

Inspection Officers (Local Authorities)

Archie Norman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) health and safety officers, (b) trading standards officers, (c) environmental health officers, (d) road safety officers, (e) housing inspectors and (f) planning officers have been employed by local authorities in each year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I understand that the Employers Organisation hold some data and I will write to the hon. Member with further details. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Local Authority Delegations

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those local authority delegations which met him or his Department's Ministers between May 2002 and January 2003; which hon. Member accompanied each such delegation; and what subjects were discussed.

Christopher Leslie: The information has been placed in the Library.

Local Government Bill

Adrian Flook: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many clauses were (a) fully, (b) partially and (c) not debated during the Committee Stage of the Local Government Bill.

Nick Raynsford: In the course of its 14 sittings, the Standing Committee of the Local Government Bill:
	(a) fully debated 106 clauses (including 15 new clauses) and two schedules;
	(b) partially debated one clause; and
	(c) did not debate 21 (including four new) clauses and five schedules.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Standard Spending Assessment was for each year between 1996–97 and 2002–03 and the Formula Standard Spend for 2002–03 and 2003–04 and the percentage change in each year from the previous year, for the Isle of Wight (a) in total and (b) broken down by major funding blocks; and what the aggregate external finance was for each year.

Nick Raynsford: Over the period requested there have been many changes in the functions and funding of services to local government. To enable a like-for-like comparison between years, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister calculates adjusted Standard Spending Assessment (SSAs) and grants. The percentage change figures have been calculated on the basis of these like-for-like comparisons.
	Until the introduction of Central Support Protection Grant in 1999–2000, there was no need to calculate grant on a like-for-like basis, and for this reason grant comparisons in the years 1996–97 to 1998–99 are not available. There were no changes in funding and function between 1998–99 and 1999–2000 that needed reflecting in adjusted SSAs or grants for 1998–99 to allow a like-for-like comparison; the actual 1998–99 values have therefore been used in this case.
	
		
			  Standard spending assessments/formula spending sharesEducationPSSFireHighway MaintenanceEPCSCapitalTotal Formula Grant (ie RSG plus NNDR) 
		
		
			 Adjusted 1995–96 43.621 17.456 2.971 3.742 17.635 7.874 93.298 N/a 
			 1996–97 45.138 17.309 3.043 3.624 17.940 7.986 95.041 69.899 
			 Percentage change 3.5 -0.8 2.4 -3.2 1.7 1.4 1.9 N/a 
			 Adjusted 1996–97 44.229 18.605 3.043 3.624 17.940 7.986 95.428 N/a 
			 1997–98 46.316 18.798 3.118 3.604 17.753 7.554 97.143 70.681 
			 Percentage change 4.7 1.0 2.5 -0.5 -1.0 -5.4 1.8 N/a 
			 Adjusted 1997–98 47.225 19.675 3.118 3.604 18.963 6.344 98.929 N/a 
			 1998–99 50.795 20.734 3.395 3.527 18.776 5.632 102.858 74.372 
			 Percentage change 7.6 5.4 8.9 -2.1 -1.0 -11.2 4.0 N/a 
			 1999–2000 53.189 21.589 3.586 3.601 19.771 6.000 107.736 77.616 
			 Percentage change 4.7 4.1 5.6 2.1 5.3 6.5 4.7 4.4 
			 Adjusted 1999–2000 53.189 21.589 3.586 3.601 19.771 6.000 107.736 77.616 
			 2000–01 57.247 23.068 3.784 3.740 20.500 6.657 114.996 83.135 
			 Percentage change 7.6 6.9 5.5 3.9 3.7 11.0 6.7 7.1 
			 Adjusted 2000–01 57.502 22.763 3.784 3.740 20.421 6.656 114.867 83.016 
			 2001–02 60.928 24.124 3.968 4.026 21.532 7.721 122.299 88.412 
			 Percentage change 6.0 6.0 4.8 7.7 5.4 16.0 6.5 6.5 
			 Adjusted 2001–02 55.437 23.766 3.968 4.026 21.562 7.748 116.507 82.658 
			 2002–03 59.156 25.137 4.148 4.135 22.622 8.722 123.920 88.231 
			 Percentage change 6.7 5.8 4.6 2.7 4.9 12.6 6.4 6.7 
			 2002–03 FSS 61.840 27.418 4.676 4.050 27.492 8.571 134.048 91.394 
			 Comparitors 2003–04 FSSs 64.834 29.471 5.373 3.818 30.612 10.114 144.221 96.318 
			 Percentage change 4.8 7.5 14.9 -5.7 11.3 18.0 7.6 5.4

Ordnance Survey Maps

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent guidance has been issued by his Department on the symbols and markings included on Ordnance Survey maps; what assessment he has made of the Ordnance Survey's decision to omit the traditional symbols and markings indicating (a) civil and parish boundaries, (b) national park boundaries and (c) churches from future editions of its maps; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Ordnance Survey, before making decisions about what is depicted on its maps, takes full account of the needs of its customers and other stakeholders. To this end, it consults widely before implementing any change.
	Following Parliament's decision to widen public access to the English and Welsh countryside under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW), Ordnance Survey has concluded that this access land should be shown on the 1:25 000 Explorer series, which is designed specifically for use during outdoor activities.
	The way the access land is shown will be crucial in helping the Open Access initiative to be implemented successfully. Clarity will be vital in minimising any misunderstanding between users of the countryside and landowners. There is much additional information to be added to the mapping. Therefore, to avoid clutter and ensure clarity, it will be necessary to take off some existing information.
	Consultation and research among users indicates that the removal of the national park, civil and parish boundaries while adding the access land, significantly improves clarity and helps avoid confusion on the ground. National Park boundaries will remain on the cover diagram of each Explorer and on the printed and data versions of the OS Landranger series. They are also freely available as part of the Get-a-Map service on the Ordnance Survey website.
	Ordnance Survey has also consulted users on the proposed changes to symbols for places of worship on both Explorer and the 1:50 000 OS Landranger Map series. In this regard, the primary consideration has been the navigational importance of buildings with towers, spires, domes or minarets. These will continue to be marked with the familiar symbols. Other buildings that are places of worship will continue to appear on the maps, but without reference to their religious or cultural significance. Final decisions about the proposed changes will be made within the next few weeks and Ordnance Survey will take into account all points of view.

Planning

Owen Paterson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether all planning considerations of individual small-scale applications will be removed from local councils under his plans for regional assemblies.

Tony McNulty: Local councils will continue to retain all existing powers of development control and none will be transferred to regional bodies now or in the future.

Poll Tax

Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much uncollected poll tax revenue remains outstanding in the UK, broken down by local authority.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not currently collect information on the level of community charge (or poll tax) arrears owed to English billing authorities. It is estimated that the arrears in England totalled £185 million at 1 April 2001. This estimate is based on information supplied to the Chartered Institute of Public Accountancy on its revenue collection statistics return and on information on amounts of community charge received, which is collected from billing authorities on the QRC4 return.
	After discussions with local government, The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will, however, be collecting information from English billing authorities on the level of community charge arrears as at 31 March 2003 on the QRC4 return for 2002–03.
	Figures for Wales and Scotland are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Parliament respectively. The community charge never existed in Northern Ireland.

Regional Government

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the results of his regional government soundings exercise broken down by English region.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March 2003 on the level of regional interest in holding a referendum for an elected regional assembly. We are now evaluating the responses and will announce our decisions after the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill has received Royal Assent.

Schools Funding

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the interaction between changes in aggregate external finance to local authorities and passporting of schools funding; and what arrangements are in place to ensure that the latter is not undermined by the former.

Nick Raynsford: Aggregate external finance is distributed by formula (Formula Spending Share or FSS) and is not ring-fenced. All authorities with education responsibilities receive at least 3.5 per cent. more formula grant for 2003–04 than they did for 2002–03, on a like-for-like basis. Setting budgets is a matter for local authorities. The Government encourage them to increase spending on schools by an amount equal to the increase in their education FSS. Authorities who have difficulty with this are encouraged to discuss with the Department for Education and Skills. Increases in education FSS were themselves constrained between 3.2 per cent. and 7 per cent. on a per pupil basis, by means of a formula floor and ceiling.

Social Housing Grant

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what impact he estimates the abolition of Local Authority Social Housing Grant will have on Torbay UA; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: LASHG was an unfair funding mechanism that did not allocate funds to areas of greatest need, consistently under-spent nationally, and gave unfair advantage to debt-free local authorities.
	As part of the measures outlined in "Sustainable Communities: building for the future", The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has decided to abolish LASHG to allow a more strategic use of resources. The change is to take effect from 1 April 2003. I announced the transitional arrangements on 5 March 2003, Official Report, column 82WS.
	Torbay UA has submitted information to the Government Office for the South West indicating that it has a total Local Authority Social Housing Grant (LASHG) commitment of 2,181,500 for 2003–04 and 2004–05. Full details of the transitional arrangements have yet to be finalised.

Social Landlord Properties

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) social and (b) regulated social landlord properties in each London borough were sold (i) to sitting tenants and (ii) on the open market in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Information reported by local authorities and registered social landlords is as follows:
	
		Sales of stock by social landlords* to sitting tenants and others: London 1997–98 to 2001–02
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 
			  LAs to  LAs to 
			 Local authority Sitting tenants Others RSLs to sitting tenants Sitting tenants Others RSLs to sitting tenants LAs to sitting tenants 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 433 n/a 0 393 0 0 762 
			 Barnet 195 0 0 260 0 0 287 
			 Bexley 183 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Brent 214 n/a 3 184 n/a 1 265 
			 Bromley 0 0 34 0 0 37 0 
			 Camden 514 n/a 0 505 n/a 0 560 
			 City of London 26 36 1 58 21 0 81 
			 Croydon 164 n/a 1 156 n/a 1 181 
			 Ealing 205 0 6 218 0 10 354 
			 Enfield 172 0 1 163 0 0 327 
			 Greenwich 392 0 2 373 0 0 515 
			 Hackney 222 0 0 337 n/a 0 493 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 141 4 1 189 1 0 240 
			 Haringey 262 0 0 284 0 1 442 
			 Harrow 85 0 0 97 0 0 134 
			 Havering 183 0 0 209 n/a 0 307 
			 Hillingdon 231 0 3 287 0 0 266 
			 Hounslow 192 0 14 290 0 5 335 
			 Islington 339 0 0 393 0 0 325 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 103 0 1 95 0 0 147 
			 Kingston upon Thames 65 0 0 55 0 2 98 
			 Lambeth 387 0 0 454 n/a 0 644 
			 Lewisham 365 15 3 524 n/a 0 634 
			 Merton 120 0 0 173 0 4 177 
			 Newham 286 n/a 0 300 0 0 430 
			 Redbridge 61 0 0 85 0 0 108 
			 Richmond upon Thames 86 0 1 92 0 0 225 
			 Southwark 344 n/a 0 439 0 0 653 
			 Sutton 141 n/a 0 124 n/a 0 214 
			 Tower Hamlets 465 n/a 0 641 n/a 0 815 
			 Waltham Forest 192 0 0 190 0 0 289 
			 Wandsworth 240 214 0 267 n/a 0 514 
			 Westminster 164 n/a 0 270 0 0 403 
		
	
	
		
			   1999–2000  2000–01  2001–02 
			   RSLs to  RSLs to 
			 Local authority Others Sitting tenants Sitting tenants LAs to others Sitting tenants Sitting tenants LAs to others RSLs to sitting tenants 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 0 527 (3) n/a 0 374 (3) n/a 0 
			 Barnet n/a 4 252 0 0 169 0 0 
			 Bexley 0 74 0 0 6 0 (3) n/a 1 
			 Brent 0 0 156 (3) n/a 1 159 0 0 
			 Bromley n/a 60 0 0 52 0 (2) n/a 58 
			 Camden n/a 0 760 n/a 0 671 n/a 0 
			 City of London 36 0 50 15 0 39 15 0 
			 Croydon 0 0 249 0 0 259 0 0 
			 Ealing 0 2 330 0 0 309 0 4 
			 Enfield 0 0 216 0 0 210 0 0 
			 Greenwich n/a 0 518 0 2 470 0 0 
			 Hackney n/a 10 764 0 17 373 (3) n/a 2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 0 380 0 0 221 0 0 
			 Haringey 0 0 239 (2) n/a 0 n/a n/a 0 
			 Harrow 0 0 88 0 0 88 0 0 
			 Havering 0 0 273 n/a 0 219 0 0 
			 Hillingdon n/a 1 231 n/a 0 163 0 1 
			 Hounslow 0 16 283 0 4 142 (3) n/a 1 
			 Islington n/a 4 n/a n/a 0 844 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 0 108 0 0 42 n/a 0 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 0 51 0 0 32 0 1 
			 Lambeth n/a 0 669 (3) n/a 0 n/a n/a 19 
			 Lewisham n/a 0 n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a 0 
			 Merton 0 8 164 (3) n/a 4 165 0 7 
			 Newham n/a 0 272 (2) n/a 0 611 0 0 
			 Redbridge n/a 1 129 0 0 101 0 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 0 33 (2) n/a 0 0 (2) N/a 3 
			 Southwark 0 0 819 0 0 943 0 0 
			 Sutton n/a 7 146 3 0 130 0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets n/a 71 1,074 0 18 1,007 2 41 
			 Waltham Forest 0 0 244 0 0 188 1 0 
			 Wandsworth n/a 0 333 115 0 149 (3) N/a 0 
			 Westminster 8 0 449 6 1 220 2 0 
		
	
	* Local authorities (LAs) and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs).
	Notes:
	1. LA sales to sitting tenants include those under Right to Buy (RTB) and similar local schemes, plus Rent to Mortgage (RTM).
	2. Other LA sales include all those to owner-occupiers under Built or Improved for Sale, but exclude transfers to RSLs and a small number of unspecified disposals.
	3. Where reporting is incomplete, the bracketed figures indicate the number of quarters for which complete information was provided.
	4. RSL sales to sitting tenants include RTB, RTM, Preserved RTB (in respect of ex-LA properties), Right to Acquire and Voluntary Purchase Grants.
	5. Data on RSL open market stock disposals are not collected centrally at local authority level.
	Sources:
	1. DETR/DTLR/ODPM Housing Activity return P1B (quarterly); Housing Investment Programme returns (annual).
	2. Housing Corporation Continuous Recording (CORE) returns.

Spending Formulae

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how, in establishing formula spending share, he measured sparsity in calculating (a) the 'older people' element of the social services formulas, (b) the police formula and (c) the EPCS formula; and in each case (i) what proportion of the relevant aggregate FSS allocation was distributed on the basis of sparsity and (ii) if he will list the authorities which benefited from the sparsity measure in each allocation.

Nick Raynsford: The sparsity indicator is calculated for each of the blocks as follows.
	The sum of:
	(i) Two multiplied by the resident population of those enumeration districts within the area of the authority at the 1991 Census with 0.5 or less residents per hectare, divided by the total resident population of the authority, calculated using information from the 1991 Census; and
	(ii) The resident population of those enumeration districts within the area of the authority at the 1991 Census with more than 0.5 but less than or equal to four residents per hectare, divided by the total resident population of the authority, calculated using information from the 1991 Census.
	For the 'older people' element of the social services formula 0.36 per cent. of the aggregate Formula Spending Share (FSS) allocation was distributed via the sparsity indicator; for police 0.15 per cent. was distributed via the sparsity indicator; and for the 'services provided predominantly by non-metropolitan district councils in non-metropolitan areas' element of the Environmental Protective and Cultural Services (EPCS) formula 4.22 per cent. was distributed via the sparsity indicator.
	Of the Personal Social Service authorities, only Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Southwark did not have at least one enumeration district within their area at the 1991 Census with less than or equal to four residents per hectare; all other PSS authorities benefited from the sparsity indicator.
	All police authorities have at least one enumeration district within their area at the 1991 Census with less than or equal to 4 residents per hectare, and hence all police authorities benefited.
	Of the district-level EPCS authorities, only Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Southwark did not have at least one enumeration district within their area at the 1991 Census with less than or equal to four residents per hectare; all other district-level EPCS authorities benefited from the sparsity indicator.

Standards Board for England

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce a referrals unit for complaints to the Standards Board for England.

Christopher Leslie: This is an operational matter for the Standards Board. I understand that a referrals unit is already in place, with the function of assisting the Board in its consideration of allegations. Provisions in the Local Government Bill will allow the Standards Board flexibility to introduce other arrangements for the efficient handling of misconduct allegations.